Love Thy Family
by Mallie1227
Summary: When Vlad Masters is stabbed, his relatives are all considered suspects, including his niece, Jasmine. To help his fiance, Technus will need to inspect each future in-law for clues and motives. Will he figure it out before it's too late? AU and maybe OOC
1. Chapter 1

I first met Jasmine Fenton in my computer science class. Her ginger head poked up from a desktop in the first row. I always thought it was quite humorous to see my students' heads peeping out from their computers. But, her hair isn't what attracted my attention to her. It was her bright turquoise eyes that did it. The first day she walked into my class, a spark lit up in those eyes, scanning the room with interest.

I judged her to be an intelligent student. My judgments were proven correct as she whizzed by every assignment and exam with ease. At the end of the semester, the majority of my students scowled at her when they learned the curve had been ruined. I didn't tell them who ruined it, but they already knew.

One year after she had passed my class, I saw her again at a café, her nose deeply buried in large textbook. I assumed she was busy with homework and did not wished to be disturbed, so I moved past her as quietly as possible. Those intelligent eyes of hers glanced at me as I passed and sparked up with delight.

"Professor Technus!" she greeted, pushing her books aside, "How have you been doing?"

"Oh, quite well, thank you," I responded, "I didn't mean to disturb your studies."

"Oh, I'm not studying," she replied, "I'm just reading, bored out of my mind. Come sit with me, unless you're busy."

I wasn't so I sat with her after receiving my coffee and chatted about every possible topic under the sun. I think I'm correct in saying that we were both surprised to find out that we had so much in common. Soon, the time for me to attend to my class arrived, and I excused myself from the table.

"We should meet up again sometime," she said.

And for the next five years, that's exactly what we did. Every Tuesday and Thursday evening we met up at the café to chat. Once in a while we would go to a movie or a restaurant instead of the café. I know, I know. A professor shouldn't be dating a student, but Jasmine was no longer my student and the movie and dinner offers were not so frequent, at least not until after she graduated with a doctorate's in psychology. I don't exactly remember when or where I had finally realized that I love her. It wasn't some sudden revelation or whatever metaphors they use in bad romance novels. But a conclusion, as if I had realized I needed to get a flashlight to see in a dark hallway.

On the evening I decided to propose to her, Jasmine arrived at the café with a scowl on her face, muttering under her breath.

"Something wrong?" I asked as she slid into her chair.

"It's my cousin," she grumbled, hanging her purse on her chair, "I swear, no amount of psychology will be able to help Dan with his anger problem."

I raised my eyebrows at her. Any mention of her family from her was quite scarce. I assumed it was because she was an orphan and the mention of family would be a painful reminder of the lack of family she had.

"Are you alright?" I asked, mentally debating on whether I ought to hold my proposal for another day.

"I'm fine," she sighed, "He and I get into the most stupid arguments almost every day. His wife certainly doesn't help matters."

I decided to postpone the proposal until she calmed down.

"Never mind," her eyes sparkled at me, "Ignore what I just said. You don't want get tangled up in my family problems."

Little did we both know that very soon, I would be tangled up in her family problems!


	2. Chapter 2

On my way to Boo University the next day, I noticed everyone huddled around a newspaper box. Curious at this display, I joined them, making myself intangible through the crowd and solidifying myself once I reached the box.

_Former Mayor Stabbed Through Heart: Family Questioned_

A picture of a white-haired man with glowing green eyes smiled back at me underneath the headline. Underneath this photo, was that of a blue ghost with his black hair curled up in an odd devil-like hairdo. While some people might think these were photographs of two men, the citizens of Amity Park knew better. Our former mayor, Vlad Masters was half-ghost and often transformed into the blue man in the bottom photo whenever a crisis from the Ghost Zone erupted into Amity Park, which was quite often.

I flew away from the crowded newspaper box, shaking my head in dismay. Murder? In small town such as Amity Park? What was the world coming too? I wasn't the only one pondering this question. Every now and then as I paced around my classroom, I would catch a student or two googling the mayor's murder instead of focusing on their assignments. In the staff's lounge, Professor Lancer post himself by the coffee machine and pounce his conspiracy theories on any poor, caffeine-deprived souls who wandered by.

After the fifth time of him hounding me, I was more than happy to dismiss the last of my students. On my route to the café, I wondered if Jasmine had discussed Mayor Master's murder to anyone at her office. Was there a Mr. Lancer stalking her coffee maker with the most illogical theories known to mankind? Would proposing today be inappropriate? Would she even say yes?

I spotted her head peeping out of a book, just as it used to do with a computer in my class. I approached her with a smile on my face, but the smile gave way to shock when I saw her dress in black. The only time I have ever seen Jasmine dressed in black was when our school mascot, Hoagie the Horrid Hawk had accidently drowned after attacking, dive-bombing, and defecating on the school's swim team during practice. He wasn't called the Horrid Hawk for nothing.

"I suppose you heard the news about the mayor?" I guessed, pulling my chair back.

"Desiree screamed the whole house awake last night when she discovered him," Jazz commented, ignoring my perplexed expression, "Dan and Ember were about to cave her face in until they figured out what happened."

"Desiree?" I asked, confused, "You don't mean that girl Vlad married two years ago, do you?"

"We were all quite surprised when Uncle Vlad brought home that tramp," Jasmine snorted.

"Uncle Vlad?" I asked, even more confused.

"I don't mention my uncle much," she responded, "I don't want people to get the wrong idea about me and think I'm some spoiled little brat."

"So that's why you don't mention your family," I blurted out before quickly covering my mouth with my hand.

She gave a humorless chuckle.

"I'm so sorry," I apologized, "That was mean. I didn't mean to-"

"You didn't hurt my feelings," she cut me off, "As a matter of fact, you stated the truth. That and my family's completely crazy."

I nodded sympathetically, but she didn't notice. She continued her ramble.

"I've got a cousin with jealousy and anger management issues along with his spoiled and entitlement issues wife who's completely angry that recording a few songs doesn't mean that the world will cater to her on bended knee!

And if I'm not dealing with them, I'm dealing with their spoiled little brat! Whining, tantrum-throwing, ungrateful, unappreciative little bastard! The worst part is they spoil and pamper that little brat to death and then wonder why he's misbehaving all the time!

Compared to my sister-in-law, however, Captain Youngbrat is a saint! I don't know what the hell Danny was thinking when he married Paulina! Catty, snotty, attention whore! Even when she's off the stage, the entire theme of the day just has to revolve around her! Should even one tiny prop go out of place, she goes into hysterics that would shame a two-year-old!

And what does Danny do? He falls all over it! Apologizing, bribing, promising! No wonder Dan picks on him so much! He is a weakling!

Don't even get me started on Danielle! Spoiled little diva, just like her mother! Thinks it's quite hilarious to prank us so much and cries her way out of trouble when she goes too far!

And does Desiree help at all while this family's on a verge of a mental breakdown that even an insane asylum would call quits on? Why, of course not! She sits on her little throne in the master bedroom like she's the damned queen of Egypt!"

Jasmine panted, tired from her tirade. After several awkward moments, I spoke up again.

"If you ever need me to help with anything..." I started.

Her turquoise eyes sparkled at me.

"You're helping me now," she responded, "Just by sitting here and keeping me away from my family. I'm sure the policeman next to us isn't too happy that I'm smiling after my uncle's death, though."

She nodded her head towards a blonde man in a turtle-neck reading a newspaper.

"I've noticed him following me since the bus stop," she remarked.

"Why on earth would they follow you?" I asked, "You had nothing to do with this!"

Her eyes sparkled again as her expression became coy.

"You don't know that for sure," she said, playfully, "For all you know, I could have snuck into Uncle Vlad's room and stabbed him in the middle of the night."

I stared at her dumb-founded. She looked rather amused at my confusion.

"But," I protested, finally gathering my wits together, "You couldn't have done that! That's not like you at all!"

"Again, you don't know that," she smirked, "You don't know what dangerous thoughts go on in my mind. And after spending a day with my family, I'm sure you'll change your opinion about me."

She finished her sentence with a snort, but I didn't pay much attention to it. I was lost in thought at what she had just said. Spend a day with her family? What was her family like? She described them, yes, but that was only one point of view. What about others? The paper mentioned that the family was being questioned, and that included Jasmine. Was there some clue that would point the police's suspicions away from her? If so, did they find it already? There was only one way to find out.

"Jasmine," I asked her, "Do the police have any clues or leads?"

"Not really," she sadly shook her head, "The windows and doors were locked and ghost-shielded with no sign of forced entry anywhere. Uncle Vlad's bedroom was locked as usual, and it was still locked when we all heard Desiree scream. Ember had to smash door down with her guitar to get Desiree to open it."

"And then what happened?" I asked.

"Well, Dan and Ember threatened her, like I said earlier, until Paulina screamed and supposed fainted."

Jasmine rolled her eyes at that last sentence.

"Danny caught her and Sam, she's Uncle Vlad's secretary, pointed to that….that thing….It was sticking….up. Straight up!"

She shuddered at the memory. Then she looked up at me.

"Why?" she asked, "Why do you want to know?"

I gulped nervously and took a few deep breaths before stating my case.

"Jasmine, I want to marry you," I blurted out.

The blonde policeman glanced stared at me along with Jasmine. Before she could recover, I went on.

"I don't want the police to go in the wrong direction and suspect you. If the doors were locked and shielded, then obviously someone in the house murdered your uncle. I need to find the clues that point the police in the right direction away from you."

"But," she stammered, "You don't know….I mean… I could have…Yes!"

"Yes, you could have murdered him?" I guessed.

The policemen blinked, still staring at me.

"No," Jasmine said, "Yes, I want to marry you! But you know, you don't know! About the murder I mean!"

Holding down my excitement, I pressed on.

"Which is why I'm proposing to stay at your place so that I could get to know my future-in-laws!"

"But..I don't…This isn't a good idea."

"Why not?"

"You don't know my family."

"Well, if I stay with them for a few days, I will get to know them."

"But…" Jasmine stammered, struggling to come up with an argument for me.

I closed her hand into mine. She looked up at me with those lovely eyes of hers.

"Jasmine, please," I pleaded, "It's obvious the murder was done by somebody still in the house. Which means that murderer is free to murder again. I don't want to be a widower before I'm a husband."

When I saw the sparkle again, I knew I had won the argument, but she made a last desperate rebuttal.

"What if you get too close? What if the killer goes after you? I don't want to be a widow before I'm a wife!"

"I'll be safe," I promised, mentally calculating the odds of keeping that promise.

She sighed in resignation.

"Alright. I'll tell them tonight that you're coming over for a few days. But, I'm warning you, don't expect a warm welcome from them."

I chuckled, ignoring the blonde man furiously digging into his pockets and muttering something about a walker.


	3. Chapter 3

**Codiak: So you have wished it, so it shall be! **

I had just finished packing my pajamas into my suitcase when I heard a knock upon my door. Thinking it was just a deliveryman with the _Dr. Who_ DVD set I had just ordered, I ignored it and resumed my packing. It was when a voice shouted at me, that I had finally answered the call.

"Ignoring a police officer when he comes knocking is against the rules!"

I opened the wooden door and stared at the large figure in front of me as his green eyes narrowed into slits. He spoke again to me as he reached into the pocket of his trench coat.

"That's better," he growled, "Now, are you Professor Nicolai Technus?"

I confirmed this as he pulled out a notebook and flipped through the pages.

"Sheriff Walker," he grumbled, "Now, just what exactly were you doing with a suspect of ours?"

I glared back at him.

"If you mean Jasmine," I answered, folding my arms, "I was proposing to her."

"Proposing to break the rules by doing our work, according to Officer Baxter," Walker snapped.

"Oh, is he the guy who's been terrorizing my fiancé?"

Granted, that was more likely exaggeration than truth, but I figured it would at least make Walker tone down the attitude a bit. Not that it helped much.

"She's a suspect," he growled, "I have to make sure she isn't breaking any more rules."

"She didn't break any rules in the first place!" I snapped back.

"You don't know that. Hell, Officer Baxter told me that she practically told you the same thing!"

"Is there anything else I can do for you, Sheriff?"

"I'm not done with you, yet," he snarled, "How do you know Ms. Fenton?"

"She used to be a student of mine. A year after she passed my class, we'd started seeing each other."

"Know much about her?"

"I'm going to marry her. Why the hell would I propose in the first place if I didn't know a lot about her?"

"You'd be surprised what kids these days call 'love.' Now, during your little meeting today, did she tell you anything about the crime?"

"All she told me was that her uncle was stabbed, his wife screamed, same girl named Ember knocked the door down and she and her husband started threatening the wife, and that the doors were locked and shielded. That's all."

"And you're going down to play detective, eh?"

Walker had flipped the notebook closed and placed it back into his pocket while glaring menacingly at me.

"Impersonating a police officer is against the rules," he growled.

"I'm not impersonating a police officer," I replied, "I'm merely going to visit my future-in-laws."

"For?" he demanded.

"How is this any of your business?" I demanded back.

He didn't respond, but his glare never left my face.

"I'm watching you," he sneered, poking his finger in my face, "Make no mistake of that. I'm always watching you. One wrong move, Technus, and I'll be throwing the book at you faster than you can say '!"

Seeing as I couldn't even begin to say that word, I made no comment. Apparently, my silence had satisfied him enough to think that I was petrified out of my mind. With a snort, he grabbed the doorknob and slammed the door shut. I drew my curtains back a few inches and watched him fly off into the greenish darkness. With a snort of my own, I flung the curtain back and resumed packing.


	4. Chapter 4

**Codiak: Glad you like it so far. **

The next day found me staring in amazement at the building in front of me. The white stone of the Masters' mansion seemed to almost gleam in the sunlight. At least, I supposed it was a mansion, but the golden towers made the home seem more like a palace fit for a king! The emerald flags waved to me in greeting as I approached closer to the door.

As I raised my fist to knock, the wooden door flung open, revealing a tall and muscular ghost with a white goatee glaring at me. The white flame on top of his head flared ferociously as his crimson eyes bored into my own. His lip twisted itself into a snarl, revealing the pointed fangs he hid underneath.

"What the hell do you want now?" he demanded, "I already told you idiots I did not kill my father! You want a suspect, why don't you look at the bitch I'm forced to call my step-mother!"

"Now, now, hold on," I responded, holding my hands out in front of me, "I think you've got the wrong idea here."

"No," he interrupted, "You've got the wrong idea if you think I'm just going to let you walk all over me and my family! By the way, I don't appreciate you sending out your gumshoes to stalk my wife!"

"What?" a female voice shrilled from inside, "Is that the son-of-a-bitch who was following me around yesterday?"

A young woman shoved the man out of the way. Just as the man's hair flared angrily, her own blue hair flared in her ponytail.

"Listen you bastard," she snarled, narrowing her green eyes, "I'm terrorized enough by the paparazzi! I don't need you making me fear for my life, too!"

"You don't understand," I tried to explain.

"I don't need to!" she cut me off, "You bothering me, and if you don't stop, I'll smash your head in with my guitar!"

"And I'll burn whatever remains!" the male ghost finished, pushing the female away from the door.

"You guys," a meek voice came from inside, "Cut it out, alright? He's only doing his job."

Just what we needed. Another voice of calm reason.

"But it's not-" I tried again.

"Why don't you cut out being a little pissy ass shrimp, you wuss!" the muscular "gentleman" shot back.

"I'm not a wuss," the voice whined.

"Listen," I interrupted, "May I please-"

"You can please," the male replied, "Get the hell off of our property!"

He roughly grabbed the back of my collar and the back of my pants. With little effort, he lifted me above his head. I fought against his grip in vain. As he prepared to toss me into most likely a Saturday ten years into the future, I was mercifully rescued by Jasmine's voice.

"Dan!" she shouted, rushing towards my captor, "Dan! Stop it! Drop him! That's my fiancé! Drop him!"

"What?" Dan asked, confused while showing no signs of releasing me anytime soon, "This old geezer's your fiancé?"

"Geezer?" I snapped, my pride offended.

I could hear the young woman behind Jasmine laughing at the porch.

"Let him go!" Jasmine demanded again.

With a snort, Dan dropped me and none too carefully, either. I groaned as pain shot up my back.

"I am so sorry about my jackass cousin," my fiancé apologized, helping me up.

"You're really marrying that old geezer?" Dan demanded again, folding his arms.

"Dan," Jasmine growled, ignoring his question, "This is Technus. Technus, this is my cousin Dan, and his wife Ember."

She pointed to the ghost who angrily claimed I was stalking her.

"Now, if you guys don't mind," she continued, "I'm taking him to his room."

I picked up the suitcase I had left on the porch and followed her into the house as Dan and Ember watched. The mansion was just as beautiful inside as it was out. The hallway's stone walls were decorated with green and gold Packers memorabilia. Standing with his back to us in the middle of the hallway was a scrawny dark-haired man. He jumped as Jasmine and I came closer to him. Perhaps it was my own imagination, but I could have sworn that his blue eyes widened at us, not in surprise, but fear.

"Danny," Jasmine addressed him, "This is my fiancé, Technus. Technus, this is my brother, Danny."

I put my hand out to take his. He took it rather reluctantly and let his own hand sit limply as I did the shaking.

"Pleased to meet you," I greeted.

"Oh," he replied, meekly, "Um. You too."

He quickly let go and watched us go up the red carpeted staircase. There were no Packers decorations here, but the upstairs corridor was still rather extravagant. The red carpet had spilled out to cover the entire floor in front of me. The shields gleamed brightly with the sun spilling in from the windows as medieval armor watched my every move.

I nearly gasped out loud as a pair of glowing green eyes peered out at me from one of the knights. I rubbed my eyes in astonishment, but the pair of eyes had disappeared. Jasmine called for me and led me to the guest bedroom. It was a simple room compared to outside, but still rather comfortable. I laid my suitcase down on the blue comforter.

"Come on down to the living room when you're done," she told me.

With that, she closed the stone door behind her and left me to unpack.


	5. Chapter 5

**Codiak: Thank you!**

I snapped open my suitcase and began to sort out my belongings. You know when you feel like there's somebody behind you, watching your every move? I got that feeling just then. I turned my head behind me, but I saw no one. Shrugging, I went back to my task, but I couldn't shake off that feeling. As I carried a bundle of shirts towards the wooden dresser, I looked behind me again. Still nothing. Oi. I had only been investigating this murder for less than ten minutes, and I was already spooked. Cursing my overactive imagination, I took my bundle of trousers and opened the closet door.

"BOO!"

Screaming, I threw myself back, only to land painfully on my rear with my trousers strewn everywhere. I looked up as I heard a child laughing.

"Oh, man," the girl giggled, "You should have seen your face!"

She continued her laughter as I stood up, glaring at her and rubbing my sore bottom. The child appeared to be in her pre-teens or early teens. Her white hair bounced joyfully with each laugh, sending tears down her green eyes.

"That wasn't very funny," I scolded her, folding my arms.

"Yes, it was," she replied, gleefully.

When she had finished with her guffaws, two white ring surrounded her waist and floated into opposite directions. One went up, while the other went down. The upper ring changed her white hair into black and her green eyes into blue. The lower one changed her black-and-white jumpsuit into jeans and a black t-shirt with the name of some obscure band I've never heard of.

"Do you always jump out of other people's closets like that?" I asked, sourly.

"Nah," she replied, "My family's gotten used to that, now. I play some other joke on them. So, you're Aunt Jasmine's new fiancée, right?"

"And you are?"

"Danielle Fenton. If you're here to ask Grandpa for her hand, you're too late. He was killed a couple days ago."

Ah! Now I was finally getting somewhere!

"You're Grandpa?" I asked, "You mean the former mayor?"

She nodded, "Of course, he's really my great-uncle, not my grandpa, but Grandpa doesn't mind. He actually prefers it."

"Really? That's interesting. Oh, well. I was looking forward to meeting Mr. Masters."

"I already told you, you're too late. He was killed. Desiree stabbed him."

"She what?" I exclaimed, "You mean the police have already figured it out?"

"Of course not," Danielle huffed, rolling her eyes, "They're too stupid to figure it out, but everyone knows Desiree killed him. I mean, the room was locked and shielded. Who else could it be?"

"Maybe your grandpa let someone in?"

"Why? It was in the middle of the night? And besides, wouldn't Desiree have seen someone? She would have made a big fuss about it just like the fuss she made when Grandpa died. Uncle Dan and Aunt Ember nearly killed her right then and there."

"So, I've been told," I muttered.

"But then again," she went on, ignoring me, "Uncle Dan and Aunt Ember are quite stupid. When you came by, I knew you were Aunt Jasmine's fiancée. If you were really the police, why would you bring a suitcase with you?"

I stared in amazement at the child's quick brain. She saw my expression and beamed with pride.

"I like knowing what's going on," she replied, "With parents as dull as mine, it's the only entertainment I get."

"Every kid has dull parents, I suppose."

"Not as dull a mine! All my mother wants to talk about is how her plays are going, or how cruel the critics are, or how mean the director is to cast her into a small part. And my dad. Ugh! I'd say that he's as stupid as Uncle Dan and Aunt Ember, if it weren't for the fact that Dad stumps Uncle Dan a lot with big words. Of course, this gets him into even bigger trouble with Uncle Dan. And when he's not getting beaten up by him, Dad spends most of his time in that dumb observatory. That or ogling Miss Manson."

"Miss Manson?"

"Grandpa's secretary."

Suddenly, there was a large thud from below along with a surprised cry. The surprised cry turned into a fierce one a moment later.

"DANIELLE!" Dan's voice boomed, "PICK UP YOUR SHIT!"

Danielle became intangible and floated through the floor. Before she stuck her head down completely, she looked back at me.

"That's another reason why I hate my dad," she informed me, furrowing her brows, "He's less of a dad than Uncle Dan is."


	6. Chapter 6

**Codiak: Again, thanks! Now, here's more!**

My little chat with Danielle got me thinking. Desiree was in the room, a locked and shielded room, mind you, when Vlad Masters was killed. Danielle claims Desiree would have made a fuss if somebody tried to break in, and Jasmine expressed distaste at her aunt when she mentioned her yesterday. Does everybody else have a disliking for their new (not including me) family member? Surely, the obvious solution was that Desiree killed Mr. Masters, but perhaps there was another way in the room? I made a mental note to question Desiree as soon as I possibly could, but first I had to meet Jasmine.

After I had finished my packing, I walked back out into the medieval hallway and noticed a buck-toothed boy in a pirate costume peek out from behind the armor with his glowing green eyes. When he noticed me, he came out from the armor and started the conversation with such a lovely gem.

"Is it true that Dad almost killed you?"

I sighed heavily. Though I was not surprised that everybody in the house knew that Jasmine's psychotic cousin almost tore me apart what with that loud booming voice of his, I was quickly tiring of being known as the guy that Dan almost killed.

"I happen to be Jasmine's fiancée, Technus," I corrected him, hoping he'd get the hint.

At this, the boy wrinkled his nose at me.

"Aunt Jasmine's gonna marry an old geezer?" he replied.

I didn't need any more convincing that this boy was certainly related to Dan Masters.

"So," I said, changing the subject, "What's your name?"

"Captain Youngblood," the child said, puffing out his chest, "This here's Bones."

He pointed to the skeleton parrot I had just noticed on his shoulder.

"What?" I teased, "Not Polly?"

"Polly," the bird replied, "Wants to bite your nose off if you don't cut that out."

"You wanna hear something really cool?" Youngblood asked me with wide eyes.

"What?"

"Grandpa was killed and Desiree did it!"

I frowned at the child's macabre form of entertainment.

"How is your grandfather being killed cool?" I asked, sharply.

"Well, duh," he rolled his eyes, "How many times has somebody been killed in this crummy old town?"

"But, your own grandfather?" I persisted.

"Eh," he shrugged, "I really didn't like him that much, anyway. He was always yelling at me about something."

"Well, maybe," Bones intervened, "If you weren't constantly pestering him, he would have left you alone."

"What are you?" Youngblood argued back, "My grandfather?"

"I feel so sorry for you," I told the bird.

"At least you get to go home," Bones replied.

"Look," I asked, "Do you know where the living room is?"

"Go downstairs," volunteered the bird, "Take a left and keep walking. When you feel like you're in _My Little Pony's _Princess Castle, you're there."

"Aunt Paulina decorated the living room," explained Youngblood.

I thanked them and went on my way downstairs, shuddering at what that horrid child had said just a few minutes earlier.


	7. Chapter 7

**Codiak: As usual, I must thank you! Just wait until you see Paulina's intro…**

I stared at the room in front of me in stunned silence. The sparkling pink walls and carpet would have most likely blinded me from their brightness, if it weren't for the purple, sparkly curtains adorning the windows. The furniture was all pure white without any hint of color in them. A flower arrangement decorated every single table in the room.

Two dark-haired women currently occupied the room. One looked up at me and expressed her curiosity with her violet eyes. The other paid no attention to me whatsoever, but instead danced around a white wooden chair singing in a slight Hispanic accent.

"_Now you see me going through it! You may think there's nothing to it! But I simply cannot do it…..aloooooone!_"

The dancer finished her routine with one more twirl around the chair before sitting into it with a dramatic gesture. She turned her teal eyes towards me.

"So," she demanded, "What do you think?"

"Outstanding," I congratulated, applauding, "I must say, you do have a wonderful voice."

"Gracias," she replied, flipping her hair, "And you?"

"Wonderful as always, Mrs. Fenton," her companion replied, almost mechanically.

"I take it you are Paulina Fenton?" I asked the dancer.

"Si, I am. And you are Jasmine's fiancée, right?"

I nodded my assent, thankful that I was no longer the guy who was almost beat up.

"I overheard Jasmine after Dan y Ember put up that frightful row," she continued.

So much for that.

"Really, they should know better," Paulina went on, placing a hand to her forehead, "I'm awfully delicate when it comes to violence. Why, I nearly fainted!"

The other woman turned away, but the mirror behind Paulina betrayed the eye roll her companion gave her.

"But," she sighed, getting up from her seat, "I am wasting my time here. I must continue with my rehearsal. Por favor, get acquainted with Senorita Manson."

Paulina went over to a corner in the room, grabbing a tall pink lamp on the way.

"So," I started, "Have you seen Jasmine? She's supposed to meet me here."

"_Cicero!_" Paulina hissed from her corner, tightly clenching the lamp.

"Miss Fenton will be down shortly, I expect," Ms. Manson replied, mechanically, "I believe she said something about helping Mr. Fenton with a telescope of in his observatory."

"Does Mr. Fenton always spend time in the observatory?"

"_Cicero!_"

"Most of the time, yes. That is, when he's not assisting Mr. Masters with some task he's set him to."

"_Cicero!_"

"You mean Dan Masters?"

"No, I mean my ex-employer, Vlad Masters. He died, unfortunately, a couple days ago."

"_He had it coming! He had it coming! He only had himself to blame!_"

I turned towards Paulina in shock at her words.

"Pay no attention to her," Ms. Manson assured, "She's only rehearsing for a part. That's part of her lines."

"_If you'd a been there, if you'd a seen it, I'd betcha you would have done the same!_"

"Oh," I sighed, "Wait, if Vlad Masters is your ex-employer-"

"Then why am I still here?" Ms. Manson finished, smiling, "Mr. Dan Masters has asked me to stay longer to help secure some financial decisions that Mr. Vlad Masters was working on."

"_Cicero!_"

"You live here?" I asked the secretary, "Jasmine mentioned that you were there in the middle of the night when Mr. Masters was murdered."

"Yes," she nodded, "I do. Mr. Masters was kind enough to offer me lodging here. It made my work easier, he said."

"_He had it coming! He had it coming! He took a flower in its prime!"_

"Do you have any ideas as to who killed him?"

Ms. Manson's eyes widened for a second, but she quickly resumed her automatic form.

"I haven't the least idea."

"_And then he used it! And he abused it! It was a murder, but not a crime!_"

"Not one?"

She continued to stare at me, but remained silent.

"Why do you have a key to his room?"

"_My sister Veronica and I had this double act and my husband Charlie traveled around with us._"

"My employer," Ms. Manson continued as Paulina continued her speech, "Gave me the key to access any files he takes into his room in case he was not there. Even when he was away, he would lock and shield his room. He was quite paranoid."

"_They had it coming! They had it coming! They had it coming all along!_"

At this time, Jasmine entered the room. She stared for a moment at the singer as she danced with her lamp in the corner.

"_I didn't do it! But if I done it! How could you tell me that I was wrong!_"

"Ms. Manson?" Jasmine asked, recovering, "My brother needs a bit of some help from you. He wouldn't say what, though."

"Yes, Miss Fenton," Ms. Manson bowed before leaving the room.

"_They had it coming! They had it coming! They had it coming all along!_"

"Why don't we go somewhere a bit more private?" Jasmine asked.

"_I didn't do it! But if I done it! How could you tell me that I was wrong!_"

"And quiet?" she finished.

I quickly agreed.


	8. Chapter 8

**Codiak: That song's on my iPod, too! Oh, yes, and hello!**

"Well?" Jasmine asked me, "What do you think so far?"

I considered my answer to her, putting all of my facts and opinions in its proper place as we sat underneath an apple tree in the grand backyard. Colored leaves and a few rotten apples decorated the grass and our sitting spot.

"So far," I started, "I can't really make at much."

"Well, tell me what you can make out," she insisted.

"Well," I took a breath, "Your cousin and his wife seem like the violent type in my opinion."

"That's not an opinion," she snorted, "That's a fact. Shoot first, ask questions never."

"That boy of theirs is absolutely horrid," I continued, "He thought that it was 'cool' his own grandfather was murdered, and justified it by saying he never liked his grandfather in the first place."

"Uncle Vlad was always scolding Youngblood, but somebody had to do it. Ember constantly babies him, and whenever Dan starts to discipline the boy, Ember goes into an outrage, argues with Dan that he's too harsh, and in the end, Youngblood gets off scot free."

"Why all the babying?" I inquired.

Jasmine shrugged in response, but urged me to go on with my observations.

"I haven't seen too much of your brother, yet, but he seems rather timid."

"He was always timid, even before Mom and Dad died," Jasmine explained, "Mom was a ghost, but Dad wasn't and so, Danny got ghost powers, even though I didn't. The humans around us were constantly picking on poor Danny for his powers. The bullying sort of died down after we moved here, but Danny was too shy to trust anyone and was absolutely thrilled when girls started giving him positive attention, even if it was just a compliment. Hell, that's why he married Paulina."

"Paulina gave him a compliment?"

"I went to school with Paulina, and she was a shallow little bitch. Still is as a matter of fact. I had a part in a high school play that had Paulina in it, too. Danny came, saw Paulina and after the show, complimented her. Paulina just looked at him and walked off. Later, in the parking lot, I left my keys in the car, and Danny went intangible to get them. Paulina saw us, and what happens the next day? Paulina's all apologizing to Danny and complimenting him and everything and poor Danny falls for it. Pretty soon, they're a couple. Danny thought it was true love, but I knew it was because Pretty Princess Paulina wanted somebody that no one else could have. A ghost boyfriend. They got married right out of high school. Again, he thought it was true love, but now, I think he knows better. He's spending less and less time with Paulina, not that she notices."

"But," I asked when Jasmine was finished, "There are plenty of ghosts here around us. Why couldn't Paulina pick anyone else other than Danny?"

"Because Danny's a halfa and halfas are rare."

"Oh. You know, I thought Paulina was rather vain, prancing around in the corner making sure that we knew she was there singing and dancing."

"You noticed that too, huh? And on your first day here, too."

There went the sparkles in her eyes again.

"So," she asked, snuggling in closer, "What else?"

"Well, there's Ms. Manson. She seems rather mechanic, but I suppose that's because of her job."

"That's true," Jasmine nodded, "When she's not working, she's more outspoken. I knew her in high school, too. Her parents are rather rich from their Mighty Meat corporations that they own."

"So, Sam's the heiress of Mighty Meat?"

"Not really. She's a recyclo-vegetarian and constantly argued with her parents over their corporation, but one day, one of her arguments went too far."

"They disowned her?"

"No, she disowned them. She said she'd rather be poor than be related to murderers."

"Wow." I said, widening my eyes, "I feel rather sorry for her."

"So, do I, but Sam's a strong girl. She'll get through what she has to. So, any more observations?"

"Does Danielle like her parents?" I asked, arching my eyebrows.

"No, and I know this for a fact. She told me. Nobody pays any attention to her. Paulina's too self-absorbed and Danny's too shy to even say 'Hello' to her. Hell, Dan's basically taken over parenting her, since the other two won't do it."

"Must be why she pulls pranks," I suggested, "Nobody pays attention to her, so she has to get their attention."

"Wow," Jasmine smiled at me, her eyes doing their fatal sparkling dance, "You know, you would make an excellent psychiatrist."

"Well," I leaned in closer to her, "I learn from the best."

She giggled, leaning in closer to me.

"Oh, really?" she asked me, "The student is now the professor?"

"I'm sure I could still teach you a thing or two," I said, softly, lifting her chin up.

Jasmine closed her eyes and raised her lips to meet my own. Unfortunately, our romantic moment was ruined by a sudden cold shower. She and I both shot up to our feet in an exclamation and looked in front of us, but the sun was still shining. Then an energetic laughter was heard in one of the branches as a metal bucket crashed to the ground.

"That was the best one yet!" Danielle gasped, still laughing.

"DANIELLE!" Jasmine and I both shouted.

"Yes?" the girl smirked, peeking her head out from the golden leaves.

"What the hell?" Jasmine demanded, her hands on her hips.

"What?" Danielle shrugged, "You two were getting too lovey dovey. Gross."

"How long have you been watching us?" I demanded.

"Ever since the part where you were talking about Mom," Danielle replied.

"Did you have to interrupt us? We were in the middle of something." Jasmine picked up the interrogation.

"I had too," Danielle rolled her blue eyes, "You two were about to kiss. Bleck."

"What?" I asked, "You've never seen a grown couple kiss before?"

"On TV, but that's all fake," Danielle scowled, "Even in reality shows, it's fake. A boyfriend kisses his girlfriend and says she's his soul mate one day, and the next, he dumped her for some other broad. Mushy gushiness is completely fake. It's completely stupid to believe in it."

"You know what," Jasmine replied, "I'm not even going to argue with you. I'm freezing cold and soggy. I'm changing clothes."

Shivering myself, I followed her back into the house.


	9. Chapter 9

**Codiak: Thank you!**

I went downstairs with dry clothes on and decided to wait for Jasmine in the kitchen. Dan Masters was standing in front of an open refrigerator reaching for something when I came in. Upon my arrival, he glanced up at me, a smirk threatened to appear on his face.

"Something funny?" I asked.

"Still can't believe Jasmine's going to marry an old geezer like you," he commented, taking out a jar of jam.

"I'll have you know I'm thirty-five years old," I responded, folding my arms.

In actuality, I was thirty-five years old when I died, but I certainly wasn't going to tell him that. He merely shrugged in response and spread the jam onto a piece of toast. Watching him make his sandwich made me feel rather hungry myself and I looked around, trying to see a nice snack.

"There's crackers and peanut butter in the pantry if you want it," Dan responded, apparently able to read my mind, "There's also a jar of Nutella in there, too, but if you don't want it, I'm going to throw it out. Nobody in this house ever ate it except Dad, but thanks to that bitch, he's not going to be able to eat it anymore."

"You mean Desiree?" I asked, coming out with a package of Ritz crackers

"Who else?" he snorted, taking a bite of his peanut butter and jelly toast sandwich, "It's obvious she did it. I don't know why the cops are wasting their time with us."

"You think Desiree did it because the door was shielded and locked? But, you know, Ms. Manson had a key."

"Sam," Dan responded, "Can't even stand to eat a damn chicken. Apparently, before the bird clucked out, her parents murdered the poor thing and she won't stand murderers. If she can't stand animal murder, what makes you think she can stand a human murder? Besides, she wouldn't have a motive."

"And Desiree does?" I asked, in between crackers.

"Well, for one thing," Dan snarled as his hair flamed furiously around his head, "I know for a fact Desiree's been screwing a certain local dream interpreter."

My eyes widened in shock as I pictured the town's tall, but quiet, purple-horned ghost with bright white dots covering the majority of his body. I pictured his red eyes gleaming brightly as he sat and thought of your dreams, advising your next best course of action in his small, dark office.

"Nocturne?" I gasped, "But, how do you know?"

"Alright," Dan rolled his eyes, "Maybe I don't know for a fact that they're screwing each other, but Desiree's certainly cheating on Dad with Nocturne. I caught the both of them several times shopping, eating, or whatever the hell else together while Dad's away on a political campaign or meeting. Not to mention that Desiree's been taking some very long and very frequent trips over to his office."

"Didn't you say something about it to her, or your father?"

"I told Dad, but he wouldn't listen!" His hair spun wildly around his head, twirling more violently with each word Dan said, "He knew I hated Desiree from the start, and for good reason as it turns out!"

For fear of being scorched and/or pummeled into the table, I decided to change the subject.

"So, where's your wife?" I asked, trying to hide my nervous shaking, "I haven't seen her for a while."

"You a fan?" he asked, calming down a bit.

"Well, I've never really heard her sing, but Jasmine tells me she does."

"Yeah, and she's damned good at it, too," he responded, "I expect she's probably getting dressed up for the lawyer."

"The lawyer?" I asked, confused.

"Yeah," He wiped some crumbs off his shirt and chin, "Dad's lawyer's coming to read the will, but I already know what's in it. Dad told all of us."

"Really?" I asked, seeing if he would tell me more.

"I got the majority of the money," He answered, apparently reading my mind again, "As I should since I'm his only child. Desiree's getting the house."

He snorted as he mentioned his step-mother. The flamed threatened to flare again, but it settled down.

"Danny and Jasmine are both getting a quarter of a million dollars. Sam's getting ten-thousand dollars. Ember and Paulina are both getting some money for their careers, though I can't remember how much, exactly. And finally, half a million are going towards Danielle's and Youngblood's college fund. Not that it would do Youngblood that much good, of course."

"Why not?" I asked, puzzled.

"Please," he snorted, "My son's not going to college. Any idiot who's met him would know that."

"What makes you so sure?" I asked, still puzzled.

"Have you met Youngblood?" he asked, "As sorry as I am to have this about my own son, Youngblood is not going to have a successful educational experience. For crying out loud, the boy's an idiot."

As if on cue, Youngblood sprinted into the kitchen, yelling wildly at the top of his lungs in pure amusement, and rammed himself straight into the refrigerator, knocking himself into unconsciousness. Dan groaned as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. Bones had flown in and perched himself on the back of Dan's chair.

"Polly," he said, "Wanna new owner. Preferably, one who's IQ is greater than one and a half."

"Is he okay?" I asked, looking at the spread-eagled boy.

"This isn't the first time he's knocked himself senseless into the fridge," responded Bones, "And unfortunately, I have a feeling that this isn't the last time, either."

With a groan, Dan got up from his chair, picked up Youngblood, and slumped the boy over his shoulder.

"Come on, Dumbass," he growled, transfiguring himself and his son upstairs with Bones following.

Finished with my snack, I headed to the pantry to put the crackers back. A click caught my attention and I turned around, peeking out of the pantry door. A slim, raven-haired woman wearing silver and blue was standing in front of the fridge, searching for something. As she got up and turned around, I was astonished at her beautiful appearance. If this is how she looked in death, I can only imagine how her beauty was in life. That is, assuming she wasn't born a ghost.

The delicate loose cloth around her legs swooshed as she went to grab a plate. The woman looked nervously over her shoulder with fear in her red eyes every now and then. Her bare belly twisted with her neck when she looked over. Pulling her top closer to her, the woman plated her item and quickly went to an open door in the kitchen, shutting it tight as she passed. I heard the lock and shield turn and hum before hearing her bare feet run up what sounded like stairs.

When the noises stopped, I got out of the pantry and stood in front of the locked and shielded door.

"I think," I said to myself, "It's about time I met Desiree Masters."


	10. Chapter 10

I went upstairs in search for Vlad Masters' room. When I turned a corner, I noticed a green light emitting out into the hallway. Following the light led me to a ghost-shielded door. Now, how was I to get in? Looking around for an entry, I noticed a bronze plaque with horizontal slots and a red button on the wall. I pressed the button, wondering what would happen.

"He…Hello?" a woman's voice answered from the slots.

"Um," I replied, "Are you Desiree Masters?"

"Y..yes. Why? You're not…I mean, are you the police?"

"No, I'm Jasmine's fiancé, Technus. I'd thought I'd introduce myself to you."

"Oh. Well, hello. Wait a minute."

The ghost-shield behind me died down as I heard a lock click from the door. The door opened a crack as the woman from the kitchen peeked her head out. Her eyes were filled with a mix of curiosity and fear.

"Would…would you like to come in?" she asked, rather tensely.

I accepted her invitation and went past the open door. The room in here was much grander than my own. The walls were painted a golden-sand-like color with a white carpet covering the floor. An assortment of bottles and brushes were placed on a white vanity, a soft red stool suited as a seat. As a matter of fact, there were more soft red stools than chairs in this room. The only chair was placed at a white desk littered with files. A newspaper and a plate of half-eaten hummus and pitas were on the golden comforter with its golden bed posts almost touching the grills of the air vent on the ceiling.

"Wow!" I exclaimed, "This is the most beautiful room I have ever seen in this house."

I was rewarded with a chuckle.

"Why, thank you, sir," Desiree replied, much more relaxed than before, "My husband fashioned this room for me after we got married. It reminds me of home back in the Middle East."

"It reminds me of the Middle East, too," I answered.

"So," Desiree continued, "When are you and Jasmine to get married?"

"Well," I answered, "We really haven't settled on a date, yet, especially with the present circumstances…"

I left off at that, wondering if Desiree would get the hint. Apparently, she had because she shirked and became rather tense again.

"I…I see," she said, softly, "Does…does she think…"

I waited for her to continue the question, but she never picked up.

"Does she think," I finished for her, "That she has a good idea of who did it?"

"I knew it!" Desiree cried out.

I was taken aback at her outburst and could only stare as she sank to the floor, sobbing into her hands.

"They…they think," she wailed, "That I…I! But I didn't!"

I looked around the room, searching for a box of tissues or maybe a towel for the poor woman. Instead, I found a pink and blue handkerchief, which I'm sure was very expensive, but seeing as there was nothing else here, I gave it to the grieving widow. She nodded her thanks as I offered the hanky and wiped the tears away.

"Everyone," she started, "They all think I killed Vlad. But they're wrong. They're all wrong. I loved my husband. I loved him as much as a wife can love her man! And what is my reward for loving him? These horrible accusations against me!"

She cried again and I let her. Her second set of sobs lasted a few minutes. Lifting up her head again, she continued.

"I tried. I tried my very best to be loving step-mother towards Vlad's children. Oh, yes, I tried very hard. But, they hated me. They still do! Yes, yes, I know it's hard for children to accept a new marriage, but for ten years? And because they hate me, they think I killed their father! That's not true! None of it's true! But, still, I'm locked and caged in here lock an animal, in my own house! Because of them!"

Dan might see his step-mother as a monster, but I saw Desiree just as she had described herself. An animal. A frightened little animal caught in a trap struggling to free herself, but could do little than watch her horrible fate.

"Now," I reassured her, "I didn't say Jasmine suspected you, specifically. What I meant was-"

"It doesn't matter," she interrupted, settling herself on a stool in front of her vanity, "She suspects me, I know she does. Why shouldn't she? I mean, hell, half the time, I suspect myself! You see what these kids do to me? They make me doubt myself! True, the door was locked and shielded. True, I was the only one who was last seen with Vlad, but if I murdered him, would I be as stupid as to leave the damn door locked and shielded? Wouldn't I want them to think that somebody broke in, or somebody forgot to lock and shield the door, and an intruder killed my husband?"

She had a point, I had to admit that. Leaving the door as it was would basically be a confession if she had really killed him.

"Do you know who in this house would want to kill him?" I asked.

"That's just it!" she wailed, "I don't know anybody! Dan may be violent, but he wouldn't dare hurt his own father. Danny's too shy. Jasmine adores Vlad. Ember hates that Vlad scolds her little brat, but I can't see her as a murderess. Paulina's self-absorbed with herself and wouldn't like all of the attention the police are paying to my husband. Ms. Manson has no qualms I've ever heard of with her employer. Then there's the children, but they're children, for heaven's sakes!"

She flung up her hands when she mentioned the children, upsetting the many colorful bottles on the surface. I helped her pick up the perfumes, hair creams, and make up.

"Nevertheless," I responded, handing her back the last perfume bottle, "Somebody in this house killed him. Are there any servants here?"

"No," Desiree said, sadly, "After the turkey and macadamia casserole explosion last Thanksgiving, Vlad refused to even hear of having servants in the house."

She sighed sadly, walking towards her hummus, upsetting the newspaper. I picked it up and glanced at the picture of Paulina in a poodle skirt. The subtitle underneath did not seem to like the actress.

_Paulina's Plays a Poor Performance_

Desiree thanked me as I handed back the paper.

"I'd better get ready," she sighed, "The lawyer is coming soon."

We said our farewells before Desiree locked the door again. As I walked down the hallway, I heard the hum of the ghost-shield behind me.


	11. Chapter 11

**Sorry for the wait. Studying for finals and all that other shit. **

**Codiak: Yes he is a dumbass, but you're going to have to wait a while before you know whodunit. **

"There you are!" Jasmine exclaimed as I came down the stairs, "Come on! Everyone's in the living room, well, everyone except Dan and Sam. I still have to find them, but go to the living room now. The lawyer will be here any minute!"

"But," I protested, "Isn't this more of a family thing?"

"Well, aren't you family?" she teased, a smile working on her face, "Or at least you will be."

Dammit, I hate it when her eyes sparkle like that in the middle of an argument. They always get me to do whatever she wants me to do in the first place. Sighing, I obeyed her command and headed towards the sound of Paulina's singing.

_Start the car, I know a woopee spot_

_Where the gin is cold, but the piano's hot_

Sure enough, there she was singing and pole dancing on the lamp just in her little corner where I saw her last. The blue-haired girl, whom I took to be Ember, was sitting on the white couch, reading a _Rolling Stones _magazine. Every so often, she would glance up from her article, watch Paulina for a minute, and then roll her eyes before returning back to the periodical. Ms. Manson arrived, still dressed in her business attire and sat on the couch next to Ember, folding her hands, waiting. Desiree seated herself in a corner far away from everyone else, nervously wringing the handkerchief I had found for her tears. Danny Fenton was sitting on the white chair where Paulina "_Simply could not do it alone."_ He appeared to be reading some sort of outer space magazine, though occasionally, his eyes darted from the magazine to Ms. Manson. Though I met him earlier, I didn't really talk to him much. I figured now would be a good time before the lawyer arrived. Pulling another white chair next to his own, I sat down and started a conversation.

"You're Jasmine's brother, aren't you?" I enquired.

"Huh? What?" he asked, nervously, shooting his head straight out of the magazine.

"I said, aren't you Jasmine's brother?" I repeated.

_It's just a noisy hall, where there's a nightly brawl_

_And all that jazz_

"Oh, uh, yeah," he replied, softly, casting his eyes towards his loafers.

"You remember me, right? Technus, Jasmine's fiancée."

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I remember."

He sat there, twiddling his thumbs over his magazine. I prayed for the heavens to give me strength talking to this man.

_I hear that Feather Dipp is gonna blow the blues_

_And all that jazz_

"Paulina's an excellent singer, isn't she?" I asked, changing the subject.

"Oh, yeah. She sings," he replied, meekly.

"Do a lot of people like her singing and acting?"

"I guess, yeah," he shrugged.

I wondered if dentists had a harder time extracting teeth from an angry crocodile.

_Hold on, hon', we're gonna bunny hug_

_I bought some aspirin down at United Drug_

"I saw an article where somebody didn't like your wife's acting."

He shrugged in response.

"She was wearing a poodle skirt," I continued, "You wouldn't happen to know what play that was, would you?"

"_Grease_," he replied, "She was Rizzo. Uncle Vlad didn't like it."

Finally, we were getting somewhere.

"Why not?" I asked.

_In case you shake apart and wanna brand new start_

_And all that jazz_

"Dunno," he shrugged, "Said she just wasn't good. His critic friend said the same thing. They haven't been liking Paulina for a while."

I wondered if having negative input from Vlad Masters would be motive enough for Paulina? As pathetic as that motive might be, I've read worse in papers. But what about Danny? 

"Did you like your uncle?" I asked.

"He was okay, I guess," he responded.

"You guess?"

_Oh, you're gonna see you Sheba shimmy shake_

_And all that jazz_

"He could be a bit annoying. He didn't like it when I married Paulina. He never liked her, in fact."

"That's it?"

"Well, he was always kind of bossy, you know. Trying to push me into stuff I don't want."

"Trying to control your life?"

_Oh, she's gonna shimmy till her garters break_

_And all that jazz_

"Yeah," he replied.

I was about to ask him more, but an argument between niece and uncle interrupted me.

"For the last damned time!" Dan boomed as he stomped in the room, "I said no!"

"Why not?" Danielle whined, "I'm his family too! And all family has to meet the lawyer!"

"That doesn't include little brats like you! Now beat it!"

_Show her where to park her girdle, oh, her mother's blood'd curdle_

_If she'd hear her baby's queer for all that jazz_

"Mommy," Danielle sniffled, squinting her eyes as a few tears rolled down her cheek, "Mommy, can't I please stay when the lawyer's here?"

_Find a glass, we're playing fast and loose_

_And all that jazz_

"Mommy?" Danielle continued to cry.

Dan said nothing, but stood there with his arms folded, rolling his eyes at Paulina. And quite frankly, I was about ready to join him.

"Daddy?" Danielle changed course, "Please Daddy? Can't I stay?"

A few more tears rolled down her cheeks. Man, this was girl was good. Did her mother give her acting lessons? Dan's gaze turned from Paulina to Danny. His eyebrows were arched, as if wondering what Daddy would say.

And what Daddy said was, "Uh, Danielle, umm… You know…Uhhh….Sweetie…."

_Right up here is where I store the juice_

_And all that jazz_

"Oh, forget it!" Danielle shouted, flying as fast as she could out of the room.

As she flew, though I'm still not certain, I could swear that I saw a few more tears run down her cheeks. However, I have a feelingthat these tears, if they were there that is, weren't fake this time.

Dan glowered at Danny as Ms. Manson made room for the muscular spook on the couch. Danny nervously cleared his throat and went back to his magazine. I had a feeling that our conversation time was over.


	12. Chapter 12

**Codiak: It's just his nature, I suppose. Or maybe it's because he's the killer! Or maybe he's just shy. But it might be an act! Or it might be his personality? Or is it! Or is it not? Wait, what?**

"Everybody's in the living room, Sheriff. We're just waiting- Oh, here he is! We're expecting you! We've assembled in the living room."

Paulina finally stopped singing and pulled up a chair next to her husband just as Jasmine strolled in, followed by two men. The muscular one, I'd met before.

"Technus," he growled at me.

"Walker," I growled back.

"The hell-?" Dan shouted, "What the hell are you doing here, Walker? This a private family affair! It doesn't concern you!"

The skinny, bandaged man in the trench coat who was standing next to Walker glanced nervously from officer to heir and back again.

"Calm your ass down, Masters," Walker sneered, "I ain't here to start trouble."

"Well, then why are you here?" Dan sneered back.

"I'm interested in the contents of your father's will. A will is the most common motive for murder in a family."

"I'll say," Dan grumbled, leering at Desiree.

Desiree shifted nervously in her spot under Dan's accusing glare. The bandaged man, who had remained quiet for some time now, cleared his throat.

"If I may begin?" he asked, still nervously glancing at the arguing spooks.

Walker grunted and stood in Paulina's corner just as Jasmine pulled up a chair next to me. The man began to sit down at a chair himself, when he looked at me in confusion. As he looked, I noticed I was mistaken thinking that this man was bandaged. There were no bandages, but there was no face, either! Only his red eyes were the only facial features he had!

"This is my fiancée, Technus. Technus, this is Amorpho, Uncle Vlad's lawyer. I insisted that Technus sit with us."

"Oh!" Amorpho's eyes widened, "Congratulations, Ms. Fenton, and you too, sir!"

"Of course," Paulina joined in, "They are going to have such a grand wedding! Oh, it will be so beautiful!"

She sighed, rather dramatically, I thought, as she leaned against Danny, who looked extremely uncomfortable with his wife's touch.

"Don't you remember our wedding, darling?" Paulina sighed.

"Um…" Danny replied, eyes wide, "Oh, um…wedding…right…"

"Can we get on with it?" Walker asked, irritably just as Dan and Ember were rolling their eyes, "I'd like to get back to the station before dark."

"Oh, right," Amorpho said, opening a briefcase he had brought with him, "Well, then let's begin."

Taking out a document, the lawyer cleared his throat and read the paper.

"My dearest family, if you are listening to this now, then no doubt I have sadly departed this earth. While I am sure that my death had no doubt saddened you all, perhaps in this will, I will be able to spark a little bit of content in your hearts.

To my dearest friend and loyal secretary, Ms. Samantha Emily Manson, to you I leave a sum of ten thousand dollars and my first wife's amethyst ring for your loyalty and caring."

Ms. Manson said nothing, but continued to listen to the lawyer, her professional demeanor unchanged

"To my darling wife, Desiree Hope Masters, I leave you my mansion along with any other property that I may own and its possessions, with exception of the Masters Dairy King Farm and the possessions that belong to the children, my son and his family, my nephew and his family, and my niece and her family. A set of emerald earrings and a ruby pendant shall be given to you, as well."

Desiree nodded her head in response to her inheritance.

"To my daughter-in-law, Mrs. Ember McLaine Masters, I leave to you a sum of twenty thousand dollars for your personal and/or professional use. Perhaps this money might be able to help advance your musical career. I shall also leave a sapphire necklace which I inherited myself after my first wife departed from me."

Ember smiled in satisfaction after having heard of her inheritance.

"To my niece-in-law, Mrs. Paulina Rosa Fenton, I leave you twenty thousand dollars for your personal and/or professional use. I'm sure my gift to you will help your career on the stage. You shall also receive a ruby bracelet from my first wife's jewelry collection."

"Oh, such a generous man," Paulina sighed, placing a hand over her heart, "My heart will forever weep for the loss of such a generous soul! He was so kind, and yet, I am not worthy for his gift!"

"You're telling me," I heard Ember mutter, sarcastically as Ms. Manson's mouth threatened to turn upwards.

I noticed Desiree rolling her eyes just as Amorpho nervously cleared his throat, preparing to read.

"For my dear nephew, Mr. Daniel Andrew Fenton, I leave you a sum of twenty-five thousand dollars along with the deed to the Masters Dairy King Farm."

"Wait, what?" Dan shouted.

Desiree jumped, startled from her corner as Danny's eyes grew wide with fear,

"Did you skip a few lines or something? How the hell does the shrimp inherit the damn farm! I'm Vlad Master's only child! That farm belongs to me!"

"I," Amorpho stammered, nervously glancing at Dan's hair flaring wildly, "I assure you, Mr. Masters, that I did not misread your father's will. Your cousin inherits the farm."

"I wanna see that will!" Dan shouted as Ms. Manson ducked just as a spark of his wild hair decided to land.

"This is an outrage!" Paulina joined in, "How dare you suggest that your darling father, may his soul rest in peace, made a mistake! My husband was born to lead the dairy charts! Oh, my husband!"

Paulina clasped tightly onto Danny's body. Danny's frightened appearance did not change.

"You pay no attention to that raging animal, my darling!"

"Um," I leaned closer to Jasmine's ear, "Masters Dairy King Farm?"

"It's the most successful dairy farm in the country," she whispered back, ignoring the argument still going on, "Uncle Vlad started it himself when he was only sixteen. It was just an old shack back then, but now, it's raking in millions a year!"

I whistled at this news.

"Your uncle must put a lot of trust in your brother," I commented.

"But does he trust himself is what I'm afraid of," she whispered nervously

"Enough!" Walker bellowed, "Masters, you'll see the damned will after Amorpho's done reading it! Now Amorpho, keep reading!"

Amorpho, who had been looking rather pale, even for a ghost, nervously cleared his throat and shuffled the papers in front of him.

"Yes," he squeaked, "Quite. Now, let's see.

"To my dearest son, Daniel James Masters, I leave for you a sum of twenty-five thousand dollars-"

"That's not right," Dan growled dangerously as his hair continued to swirl wildly around his head, "Dad told me he left the majority of the money."

Amorpho looked as if he were about to faint.

"Masters," Walker growled just as dangerously as Dan, "Do you really wanna start with me, right now?"

Ember angrily folded her arms as Dan leered at Walker, but he didn't say anything.

"Amorpho," Walker continued, "You mind finishing?"

"Huh? What?"

Amorpho sharply turned his head away from the door. Judging by the guilt in his eyes, I suspected he was thinking about bolting

"Oh, right. The will," he chuckled nervously before clearing his throat again.

"Twenty-five thousand dollars for you to use as you see fit along with my collection of Packers memorabilia which I have adorned the mansion with. To my darling niece, Jasmine Abigail Fenton, I leave for you a total twenty-five million dollars-"

"WHAT?"

Dan stood up, his hair glowed a dangerous shade of white and blue as he growled at his cousin. I stood up and placed my body in front of her, mentally trying to remember what little self-defense skills I had. Danny had taken his chair and scooted as far away from his sister as possible. Desiree too, scooted, but farther into her corner, as if she were trying to make herself look smaller. Jasmine stared in space wide-eyed as Amorpho eyed the door again. Ember stood up and grabbed her husband's arm as he was about to advance towards me.

"Honey," Ember pleaded, "Honey, forget it! Okay? Forget it and forget her! I don't know how the little dipsticks managed to brainwash your father-"

"Brainwashed?" Paulina exclaimed, placing a hand over her heart,

"But they did," Ember continued, "And it's over with! Just forget it! I can make money for ourselves-"

"I'm supposed to be providing for you, not the other way around!" Dan shouted.

"And you are," she soothed, rubbing his bicep, "You are providing. You're providing me with love and comfort-"

"How the hell are we supposed to live on that?"

His hair never stopped doing its dangerous dance just as his glare never left Jasmine, but she didn't seem to notice his anger. She was still too shocked for words.

"And all those-" he continued.

"We'll find a way," Ember interrupted, "We'll find a way. For now, it's over."

He continued to glare, but at least his hair had calmed down a bit, though it still swirled rather wildly.

"Well," he sneered to Jasmine, awakening her from her trance, "Congratulations. I don't know how you and the shrimp managed to weasel onto his good side, but you did. Don't expect me to be happy about it, though!"

He stalked back towards the couch and let his wife continue to calm him.

"Amorpho?" Walker grunted.

Amorpho shrieked and jumped from his chair, spilling the contents of his briefcase all over the floor.

"Oh, sorry," he muttered, picking up the spill with Ms. Manson's help, "Yes. Thank you, my dear. Now, where were we?"

"Jasmine's inheritance?" Walker said, glowering at her.

I took my seat and glared back at the cop as Amorpho shuffled the papers.

"Twenty-five million dollars along with my first wife's complete set of medical text books, which if you remember, my darling, you used to pour over with great delight when you were a child. I shall also leave my niece a set of diamond earrings from my first wife's jewelry collection.

For my dearest grandson, Youngblood Cody Masters, I leave for him a sum of twenty-five thousand dollars for him to inherit upon his 21st birthday and fifty thousand dollars for his college education. Should he choose to deny himself an education, the fifty thousand dollars will be donated to a charity of his choice.

My darling granddaughter, Danielle Sophia Fenton, shall inherit twenty-five thousand dollars upon her 21st birthday along with fifty thousand dollars for her college education. Should she forego an education, the fifty thousand dollars shall be donated to a charity of her choosing. She shall also inherit a pearl necklace, a diamond ring, and an emerald bracelet from my first wife's jewelry collection upon her 21st birthday.

I am in sound mind as I sign this will in the presence of Box Ghost and Lunch Lady on the 24th of June, 2009.

Vladimir Ivan Masters.

I, Robert Jack Boxer, decree that my employer, Vladimir Ivan Masters, is in sound mind when signing this document on the 24th of June, 2009. Beware.

Robert Jack Boxer.

I, Ethel Agatha Boxer, decree that my employer, Vladimir Ivan Masters, is in sound mind when signing this document on the 24th of June, 2009. Box Ghost, quit being an idiot! You're not supposed to write something like this on a will! Oh shit, look what you made me do!ith

Ethel Agatha Boxer."

Upon finishing the will, Amorpho quickly stood up, shoving several papers inside of his briefcase.

"Congratulations to all of you! If you have any questions, please stop by my office on Wednesdays!"

As he turned around, I heard him mutter, "Those are my day offs. Then you can bother Klemper. He deserves it."

With a bow, Amorpho handed the will to Walker and bolted out of the living room with great speed.

"Oh!" Paulina sighed, "All of this shouting and excitement has given me such a headache!"

She placed a hand upon her forehead.

"I'm going up to my room to lay down! Danny follow me up! I'm so weak, I'm afraid I'll fall off the stairs!"

Danny followed Paulina, slouching his posture with his head bowed, ignoring Dan's and Ember's sneers.

"Now, then," Walker grunted, "I'm gonna take this will and have it inspected for forgery as well as track down this Box Ghost and Lunch Lady, though I doubt, Masters, that the former mayor did not write this will. I'll be around later to question all of you."

With that, Walker walked out, but before he left, I followed him to the door.

"Walker," I said, "Dan had told me that Vlad told his family beforehand what was in the will and that Dan's and Jasmine's inheritance positions were switched around. Meaning that Jasmine was supposed to inherit the twenty-five thousand and Dan was supposed to get the majority of the money! Surely, with this surprising turn of events, you can cross Jasmine off your list! She had no idea she was going to be the main benefiter!"

"Hmm," Walker responded, scratching his chin, "You might be on to something there. And judging from Master's reaction, Fenton wasn't supposed to get the farm, either. I might have to take a closer look at him. Specifically what he meant by, 'And all those-'"

He took his leave soon after, leaving me feeling extremely relieved.


	13. Chapter 13

**Codiak: Patience, my friend, patience. It's not time yet.**

Dan stomped past me as I made my way down the hall, practically shoving into the wall.

"Watch it," he growled, stomping upstairs.

Turning towards the other end of the hall, I spotted Ember watching her husband. Shaking her head sadly, she turned towards the kitchen. I waited a few minutes before joining her. I assumed she didn't wish to speak to me, all things considered, so I pretended to search for a snack as I thought of how to approach her. Fortunately for me, her son came up with the perfect excuse.

"Hey!" Youngblood shouted, furrowing his eyebrows at me, "I was gonna eat that!"

He pointed furiously to the apple I had absentmindedly picked up. Ember turned to look at what Youngblood was upset about.

"Honey," she cooed, crouching down to his level, "Honey, there are plenty of apples here. Don't you want that big one over there?"

She rustled his green head, pointing towards the fruit bowl.

"No!" Youngblood shrieked with a stomp, "I want that one!"

Not wanting to hear any more shrieking, I gave him the stupid piece of fruit in question. He snatched it out of my hands and took a bite, still glowering at me.

"What do we say, sweetie?" Ember asked him.

In response, the brat stuck his tongue out at me and flew off.

"Sorry about that," Ember apologized for him, "He's a stubborn little rascal, but boys will be boys I suppose."

"Sure, my pleasure," I responded, hoping Ember didn't notice me lying through my teeth.

"You're a nice guy," she said, standing up, "Hell, you didn't even mention our first encounter."

That was because I was hoping everybody else would just forget my first encounter with this crazy lady and her husband already, but of course, I kept my mouth shut.

"No big deal," I lied, "It didn't even hurt that much when Dan went and yanked me into the air."

Boy, was I on a roll with the lying today. I just hoped Ember wouldn't be.

"Yeah. Dan," she said, stiffening up, "Congratulations."

"For what?"

"For the money, you know. I mean, after you and Jasmine get married."

She sulked off towards the fridge and began rummaging around through it. I watched her, not making a sound. She grabbed what she wanted and slammed the door shut with a sigh.

"Sorry," she muttered, not sounding the least bit sorry at all, "Dan and I just had these plans for that money and suddenly, they've all gone up in smoke."

She yanked the bottle cap of her bottle of beer and leaned her head back, gulping down the amber liquid. After she had finished with that beer, she went back to the fridge for another, swigging it down like the previous one. When she reached for a third, I took a look at the clock. Two minutes had passed. Impressive. Was it enough for a world record?

"'Course," Ember continued, drawling a little bit, "Those plans weren't gonna happen until after we paid off the debts."

"Debts?" I asked, curious.

"Yep," she nodded, taking another swig, "Haven't you heard? The Masters Recording Company is about to go bankrupt. That's why I've only made one CD. The company can't afford to make another."

"Well," I replied, "I'm very sorry to hear that, but how does this affect Dan?"

"My father-in-law put Dan in charge of the company five years ago. Dan put me in charge of finding the singers since he doesn't know a damn thing about talent. Meanwhile, he's been managing the business end, only not so well. And now the company's gonna to go bankrupt after all since we can't pay the damn bills."

"If you can't pay the bills, what's going to happen to your singing career?"

"I dunno," she shrugged, staggering a little bit, "It's gonna have to wait, I guess. I've still got my modeling acts."

"Modeling acts?"

"I've been modeling for a bit. Not enough to be a super model, but it puts food on the table. Trouble is, Dan doesn't like it that I have to earn the money."

"He has a problem with women working?"

"He's got a problem with women doing all the work while the men can't make a damned penny. Makes him feel incompetent, I guess. Hell, he's been upset that we've been living with his dad's help for the past few years, now."

"So have Danny, Paulina, and Jasmine," I pointed out.

"Jasmine's still single," Ember waved away Jasmine's concerns, nearly losing her balance in the process, "She won't be for long, though. And as for the shrimp and the queen, they're not doing so well, either."

"Really now?" I asked.

"Yep," Ember nodded, "First of all, the shrimp's too shrimpy to take control of his own damned life and instead lets others lead it for him. He'd rather be somebody's whipping boy than dare to ask for a raise at wherever the hell he works at. Probably why the old man left him the farm. Forcing him to lead, that's what he was doing. As for her royal majesty, her shows haven't been doing so well. In fact, her director's thinking about not renewing her contract with the theatre after it expires."

"Now, that is interesting. What do you think will happen after her contract runs out?"

"They'll move to the farm, what else?"

"Are you planning to go anywhere?"

"We were planning to move to the farm," Ember scowled, "But, I guess we'll move to Dan's RV. He's wanted to move us out there for years, anyways. Only reason we didn't is because his father begged us to stay here. 'Course Dan can't refuse the old man's wishes, now can he? And Desiree will be all alone here, leaving her plenty of time to move in her little dream bastard."

"I take it you think she's the one behind your father-in-law's murder?"

"Who else could it be? The door was locked and shielded. Nobody else could get inside. Well, nobody except Sam, but why should she kill him? For a mere ten thousand dollars? Please. She's an heiress herself."

"I thought she disowned her family?"

"Oh, yeah. That's right. She did. But there's still no motive."

Our conversation was interrupted by an ear-piercing scream.

"That wasn't me, was it?" Ember drawled.

I stared at her for a few seconds before a familiar booming voice filled the house.

"Somebody call an ambulance!" Dan roared, "Danielle's fallen out of a tree and she's not waking up!"


	14. Chapter 14

Sheriff Walker glowered at the paramedics as they loaded the injured child into the back of the ambulance. She had regained consciousness, but her eyes remained out of focus. Paulina wailed as Dan told an officer, the blonde one from the café, what had happened.

"Like I said," I overheard Dan say, "I was in my room when I heard a scream. I looked out the window, saw Danielle lying on the ground, became intangible, and flew over to her. I tried to wake her up, but she wouldn't respond. I shouted for somebody to call an ambulance."

"How did you try to wake her up?" the officer asked.

"I didn't move her, if that's what you're asking. I'm not an idiot. I shouted out her name several times, but she wouldn't wake up!"

"How do you think it happened? Several witnesses say you shouted she fell out of a tree?"

"Well, besides the fact I found her lying on top of a broken branch underneath a tree," Dan growled, rolling his eyes, "She likes to climb trees a lot. Hell, the girl practically lives in them and that tree happens to be her favorite."

Dan pointed to the tree in question. It was a large oak tree with bright red leaves adorning its limbs. A broken branch with a few leaves clinging on to it was lying on the ground just where Danielle had been moments before. The officer nodded and wrote some notes in a little notebook.

"And as for her father?"

He pointed to the unconsciousness man being loaded into the vehicle with his daughter. Ms. Manson was talking to one of the paramedics as Paulina continued her loud sobbing.

"Oh, that?" Dan shrugged, "He ran outside, saw Danielle lying there, and fainted."

"About that tree," Sheriff Walker asked, interrupting his officer's interrogation, "You say the one she fell out of is her favorite, right?"

"Yeah, so?" Dan asked, glaring at the cop.

"How do you know that?" Walker glared back.

"She's been climbing that tree since she started walking," Dan growled, "Every time she wants to be alone, she climbs that tree. Hell, everybody in this house knows that."

"It's true," Jasmine quipped, scaring the daylights out of me as she seemed to appear next to me out of nowhere, "Everybody here knows that oak is Danielle's favorite tree."

"So she climbs a lot, huh?" Walker asked, focusing his attention towards Jasmine, "Enough to be careful about making mistakes?"

"Oh!" Paulina shouted, apparently listening to our conversation, "You mean somebody tried to deliberately kill my precious baby! Oh! My baby!"

Paulina's eyes rolled to the top of her head as she started to sink to the ground. The blonde officer sprinted over to her falling figure, catching her just as she was about to hit the grass. He summoned a paramedic to help with the actress.

"Oh, please," Dan muttered.

Jasmine gave a heavy sigh as Ms. Manson shook her head.

"You didn't see anyone near Danielle, did you Masters?" Sheriff Walker asked, resuming his interrogation.

"No," Dan growled, "I didn't. I also didn't see anybody hiding up in the tree, either."

"If they were a ghost," I volunteered, "They could have flown away."

"Admitting something, Technus?" Sheriff Walker snarled.

"Hey!" I shouted, offended, "I just got here today, remember? What motive would I have?"

"I'm still watching you," he snarled, floating over to the fallen branch.

The paramedic over Paulina's body stood up.

"Vitals are all normal," he declared, "Heartbeat's alright, temperature's alright, her pulse is fluttering away. She's fine. If you don't mind, Sheriff, we need to get these two over to the hospital."

Sheriff Walker grunted as he dismissed the paramedic. Ms. Manson got into the back of the ambulance. Bending down, Sheriff Walker examined the branch as the ambulance wailed away.

"I'm gonna take this back to the lab," he declared, standing back up again, "Just to make sure that this accident really was an accident. Baxter!"

The blonde officer stood to attention.

"Take Fenton up to her room. And you, Masters, I'm watching you."

"For what?" Dan demanded.

Sheriff Walker bagged the branch as evidence before walking away. Dan followed him still insisting on an answer.

"Why," I asked Jasmine after everybody had left, "Why would somebody try to kill Danielle? Couldn't it have been an accident?"

"True," Jasmine nodded, "Even experienced climbers have a fall every now and then. Not to mention that it would be extremely hard to try to kill somebody in a tree while not accidently killing yourself."

"So, what happened?"

Jasmine thought for a moment, scratching her chin. She looked back up and turned towards me to answer, but something caught her attention. I turned to where she was looking at and noticed something glitter out of the hole in the oak tree. I walked towards the tree and stuck my hand in the hole. I caught hold of something soft and papery. The papers rustled as I pulled them out. An image of the sun was carved on a giant golden coin tied to the papers with red ribbon. Jasmine untied the ribbon and read one of the papers. She growled as she finished the document.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Motive," she said, shoving it towards my face.

_My Darling Desiree,_

_How my heart weeps every time you must leave my lonely abode. But, do not fret, for it does not weep for long. Every time I close my eyes an image of your lovely face fills my dreams with happiness and my heart rejoices once again. And when you honor my small home with your graceful presence, my heart's rejoicing never stops until you must sadly leave again. How I hate your husband for keeping you away from me, but I must trust you when you say it won't be long until we are together forever._

_Love Your One and Only,_

_Nocturne_


	15. Chapter 15

**Codiak: Oh snap indeed! And as for Danielle, read on…**

I was awakened the next morning by a loud pounding coming from downstairs. A few seconds later, the pounding ceased. The room began to grow foggy again as I laid my head back down on the pillow when a cry of despair jolted me back to my senses. In the midst of the sobbing, Dan Masters was shouting his victory.

"I told you!" he bellowed, triumphantly, "I told you damned idiots that bitch killed Dad, didn't I?"

With a groan, I tossed the warm covers off me and quickly put on my robe. Peeking out of my room, I saw Desiree bent over a table wailing as Officer Baxter placed the handcuffs on her. Tears streaked into her messily tossed hair on the table as Sheriff Walker was in the middle of reading Desiree her Miranda Rights and shouting at Dan to keep quiet. I would have found it quite amusing if I wasn't feeling sorry for Desiree.

"You have the right to- I said shut up, Masters! To remain silent!"

"You stupid bitch!" Dan shouted, too gleefully, I might add, "Did you honestly think you'd get away with this? Not in my family!"

"Shut the hell up! Anything you say can and will be used against-"

"I warned Dad! I warned him!"

"Calm your damned ass down! In a court of law. You have the right- Stay the hell back, Mrs. Masters!"

Ember, who had come running down with Danny and Ms. Manson, started hugging her husband. He twirled her around in excitement, her pink-and-black nightgown twirled as if it were a ball gown. Danny grasped his head as he started to faint. Quickly, Ms. Manson caught him, fluttering her own purple-and-black nightgown in the process. The whole scene was like a train wreck, really. You don't want to watch, but you can't stop looking.

"Quit dancing on my crime scene!" Walker shouted, either ignoring or forgetting that no crime had taken place in the hallway, "To an attorney!"

"Hey," Ember asked, facing Walker, "What happens to the mansion?"

"Ask Amorpho! If you cannot afford an attorney-"

Seeing that Ms. Manson was struggling to get Danny into his room, I went by her side to help her, completely grateful of the excuse to finally leave this chaotic scene. Ms. Manson and I managed to get Danny back into his room. As I entered his room, my eyes were assaulted with another explosion of pink and glitter.

I must have made quite an unusual expression upon my face because Ms. Manson said to me, "Paulina decorated the room."

She and I placed Danny into his bed. I noticed that his wife was nowhere in sight. I mentioned that as we walked out into the now abandoned hallway. Though, I could still hear Sheriff Walker ordering Ember and Dan to shut up.

"Most likely at rehearsal," Ms. Manson volunteered, "Either that, or she 's picking up Danielle, but I highly doubt that."

"How is Danielle?" I asked.

"She's alright, thank heavens," she sighed, shaking her head, "Broke her leg and suffered a concussion, but she'll be alright."

"And him?" I asked, nodding to the unconscious man.

"He's fine. He just gets light-headed when seeing injuries," she cast her eyes down to her feet as she finished her sentence, "I should ask around about a good attorney to Desiree."

This statement surprised me very much. Her employer's wife went and murdered him, and Ms. Manson's feeling sorry for her? Then again, so was I. Sure, Jasmine and I found the love letters. Sure, the letters strongly indicated that Desiree was going to harm her husband. I mean, what other way can you analyze, "_I must trust you when you say it won't be long until we are together forever_." Sure, we handed the letters over to the sheriff and he strongly thought that Desiree was the killer. Strong enough to arrest her, that's for sure. But, something just felt off.

"Did Desiree love her husband?" I asked.

Ms. Manson said nothing for a few seconds, but she finally she sighed.

"Oh, what the hell," she said, dropping her professional demeanor, "Today's my day off, anyways. Truth is, I'm not too sure. She was grateful to him, yes. But loved him? I'm not sure."

"Grateful?"

"Desiree came from a poor family. When she was human, she prostituted herself to help her family. One day, she met this really rich guy. After a few, ahem, sessions, he gave her some money and some gifts for her family and everything. Then his wife found out about the affair and killed Desiree in a rage. Desiree tried to help her family even as a ghost, but the family had all been killed in some sort of accident, only they didn't become ghosts. For several years, she was alone, until Vlad went to the Middle East for a vacation, met her, felt sorry for her, and married her.

She cooked, cleaned, helped with the kids, you know did things that regular housewives do. Like I said, she was grateful for Vlad's help. But, I'm not sure that she loved him. She did, however love Nocturne. Vlad and I saw them go out several times."

"Wait, Vlad knew?"

"Course he knew. He already figured long ago that Desiree wouldn't be too happy as a young woman, relatively speaking of course, considering she's been dead for a while, married to 'an old geezer like me,' he used to say. He was rather shrewd like that. Vlad always knew about a person's personality and true colors after just one meeting with him. Probably why he never liked Paulina and criticized her acting."

"And he didn't care about Desiree and Nocturne?"

"Nope," Sam shook her head, "Not one bit. Then again, he can't exactly talk himself. He was in love with another woman while he was married to Dr. Spectre."

"Do you think Desiree could have killed Vlad to get together with Nocturne?"

"Well, I don't think so," Ms. Manson snorted, folding her arms, "But, the sheriff does, apparently. And whatever the sheriff thinks must be true. It's the law!"

"Who gets the mansion and all of the other properties if Desiree goes to jail for good?"

"I assume Dan does," Sam shrugged, "But Amorpho would know for sure. I'll tell you one thing, though, Dan would be real happy inheriting all of Vlad's estates. He's in a real tight jam right now."

"You mean with the recording business?"

"Oh, you know about that?"

"Ember told me."

"Vlad gave him the recording business just to see how well he could handle it. He had doubts it would succeed. Apparently, he was right. Like I said, he was always shrewd like that."

"What other things did Vlad think about his family?"

"Well, let's see," Ms. Manson placed a finger to her chin as she went into deep thought, "He always thought that Dan would do better in physical activities than in mental or financial. That's quite true, of course. He was never that successful in school, but the school didn't care so long as he could play on the football team or on the wrestling team. He loves wrestling. He still does it about three times a week."

To this, I had no doubts. The bruise on my back from when he dropped me the day before supported theory.

"Ember mentioned Vlad begged Dan to stay at the mansion instead of living in an RV like Dan wanted too."

"Vlad liked being close to his family," she shrugged, "Including Ember. He really liked Ember. He said she had some good potential in her music career and modeling career. As a matter of fact, Vlad financially supported her careers himself and was very supportive after her-umm..crisis."

She avoided my eyes as she mentioned Ember's crisis, but she continued on.

"After her crisis was over, Dan became interested in Ember and started dating her. To his delight, he found out that she was quite an adventurer. Apparently, her ex-boyfriend had taught her how to hunt and explore through the forests. Vlad loved it when Ember would go hunting with him and Dan.

He liked Jasmine a lot. He and Dr. Spectre did. Vlad thought that Jasmine was an intelligent child and that she had a gift in emotions. Whenever she met a sad person, she managed to make him smile in less than twenty minutes."

"He's right with that one," I smirked, "Just the sight of her makes me light up."

Ms. Manson gave a light chuckle before continuing.

"Vlad really focused on Danny for some reason. It completely irked him that Danny wasn't as outgoing as he himself was. Vlad pushed Danny into clubs and groups. He knew when to pull back, but he was constantly trying to get Danny to reach his full potential. I think Dan was rather jealous of the attention Vlad was giving Danny.

The one thing Vlad didn't like about Danny was his wife, Paulina. And I've got to say, I agree with him. Paulina is a shallow bitch. Vlad never liked her attitude or her acting. He didn't like that she overdramatized everything on and off stage. Everything just had to be about Paulina. The world is her set, she's the star, and we're all just extras!"

I was quite surprised by Ms. Manson's outburst and raised one of my eyebrows in concern.

"Sorry," she panted, "She and I had issues back in high school."

She refused to look me in the eye as she told me this, but she went on.

"He really loved his grandchildren, though he always got so exasperated over Youngblood's energy. Vlad constantly compared Youngblood to Dan when he was a kid. As for Danielle, he felt rather sorry for her. He arranged these father and daughter things for Danny and Danielle, but Paulina always found some excuse to keep Danny at home. Vlad realized Danielle's an intelligent child, so he arranged to have her enrolled in these groups and classes to spark her intellect, but she only received compliments from him and Dan."

"Danny and Paulina don't care?"

"Paulina certainly doesn't. Danny, I think he tries, but Paulina always gets in the way when he tries to spend time with her."

"Oi, Sammy!"

Dan flew up the stairs, interrupting our conversation.

"Hey, I just called Amorpho. He's coming over to discuss who gets the house. Get ready. You too, geezer. Oi, Shrimp!"

He flew into Danny's room, completely oblivious to the scowl I was giving him.


	16. Chapter 16

Thirty minutes after Dan's announcement, I was showered, dressed, and still hungry after my breakfast of a banana and orange juice. I didn't have time to eat something else, though. Jasmine had rushed into the kitchen as I about to grab a cereal bowl.

"There you are," she said, grabbing my wrist, "Come on, Amorpho's here! He wants everyone in the living room."

"But I'm still hungry," I whined, as Jasmine pulled me out of the kitchen.

She sighed and rolled her eyes as if irritated, but the sparkle in her eyes told me she was amused.

"Oh, you big baby," she sighed, "Look, if I make you blueberry waffles, will you be nice for Uncle Vlad's lawyer?"

I folded my arms and pouted like a child, though my mouth twitched once or twice.

"Fine," I said, mockingly, "But only if I get to put whipped cream on them."

"You'll get a cavity," Jasmine teased, her eyes sparkling away.

"I don't care. I want whipped cream," this time I couldn't stop my mouth from turning into a smile.

"Oh, all right," she playfully sighed, rolling her eyes, "Just this once."

"Aunt Jasmine and Technus sitting in a tree," a childish voice sang.

Jasmine and I looked up at Youngblood smirking at us. His pirate attire was replaced with one of a cowboy's. Bones was nowhere to be found, I noticed. He continued his banter as we scowled back at him.

"K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

Smirking myself, I grabbed Jasmine's waist and gently lifted her face to meet mine. She and I closed eyes as we pressed our lips against one another and enjoyed the moment. When I came back up to breathe a few minutes later, I looked back up to see Youngblood scowling at us.

"Man," he complained, "It's not as much fun when they're already in love."

"Where's Bones?" I asked.

Youngblood pointed out towards the window where I saw a skeletal horse wearing a frilly pink saddle.

"Aunt Paulina likes to dress him up," Youngblood sighed, "I'd tell her to stop, but I got to admit, it's kind of funny."

As Youngblood giggled, Bones seemed to be saying something from the front yard. I opened the window and stuck my head out.

"What did you say?" I asked.

"I said," he replied, "I wish I was alive so I could wish I was dead."

"Hey! Jasmine! Old geezer!" Dan shouted, "You guys coming or what?"

Without saying good-bye to Youngblood, Jasmine and I ran as fast as we could towards the living room.

"About time," Dan muttered as we entered.

Everyone from before, minus Desiree and Sheriff Walker, were all assembled into the living room. Paulina sat on the couch with her now-conscious husband beside her. Ms. Manson, whom I was surprised to see wear a black-and-purple dress, with fingerless gloves, combat boots, and purple lipstick, had chosen the floor as a suitable seat. Ember and Dan sat on armchairs, the both of them smirking to each other as Jasmine and I selected armchairs of our own. Amorpho looked up from his briefcase when we sat down.

"Ah! Good!" he exclaimed, "We're all here! Now, before I'm to tell you who inherits Mr. Masters' estates, I must tell you that Mr. Masters himself told me to read aloud a letter to the entire family after his death. The reason why I didn't do it yesterday is because my co-worker Klemper had decided that Mr. Masters' letter was his new friend and refused to part with it for the rest of the day."

We stared back at him in complete silence. Finally, Ember spoke up.

"You poor man," she sympathized.

"Thank you," Amorpho said, clearing his throat, "I managed to get the letter back by convincing Klemper to make friends with the janitor's mop. Now, then, back to business."

He pulled out the letter in question and cleared his throat.

_Greetings my dear family, _

_If you are listening and/or reading this letter, then I have unfortunately passed on to another life. That is not the only unfortunate news I have for you. I have been keeping a very dark secret from you all. _

_Back when I was a boy in Wisconsin University, I had the pleasure of befriending a beautiful woman by the name of Madeline Walker. I also had the pleasure of meeting her boyfriend, Jack Fenton. We all got along rather well, even though I had this unconquerable crush for dear Maddie, a woman whom I had no hopes for at all, or so I thought._

_After we graduated, Jack and Maddie got married and moved on. I stayed in Wisconsin and managed my numerous businesses. I met Penelope Spectre and we started dating. Our Wisconsin University reunion was coming up, and I agreed to host the reunion was the college asked me. I was rather glad to see my friends after ten years. Unfortunately, Penny and I were had some awful fight, which I can't remember what about, and we were separated for a few weeks, but it did not dampen my energy to see my old friends again._

_The reunion came and I was glad to see Maddie and Jack, and you too, little Jasmine, though I noticed your parents seemed rather tense around another. The party was interrupted by a ghost attack. Apparently, serving fruit salad is a federal offense in Undergrowth's mind. Jack and I managed to defeat him and get on with the party. Jack decided to guard the party outside in case Undergrowth came back. I told him that was rather silly, but he insisted. So I went back to Maddie, where I learned she and Jack were having some argument over the existence of Santa Claus. _

_She mentioned how brave she thought I was to go after that fudging beaked ghost and began asking about other ghost attacks that have happened here. I told her and we started talking about other things that I can't remember what about. We were both rather drunk. I do know that we talked about our relationships with our significant others. Of course, we both said some nasty things about them since, as you'll recall, we were in the middle of an argument with them._

_Anyways, one thing led to another, and the next thing I know, we both end up in my bedroom. The morning after, we felt ashamed and agreed never to speak of it again. I didn't tell Penny when we got back together, but I'm not sure if Maddie told Jack. _

_For a couple of months, I thought that was the end of that, but imagine my surprise when Maddie wrote to me. Imagine my even greater surprise when she told me she was pregnant and the father wasn't Jack. Maddie gave birth to my son two months before Penny did. We had paternity tests done after the baby was born and the test did indeed prove that Daniel Andrew Fenton is my son."_

A loud crash made Amorpho look up in surprise. I glanced over to see that Danny had fallen off the couch, though practically no one noticed. We were all still staring at Amorpho with wide eyes and opened mouths. Dan's and Danny's eyes were the widest of all. With a nervous clearing of his throat, Amorpho continued.

"_I'm terribly sorry for having kept this secret from all of you, especially you Daniel and Daniel. By the way, I had no say in naming the both of you. I tried to convince Penny to pick another name for our son, but, well, you know your mother, Daniel._"

Amorpho folded the letter and took out another document.

"This here," he explained, "Is the paternity test Vlad Masters was talking about. He'd actually had two done, just to be sure. Of course, all of you know that money was no object. Both tests prove that there is no doubt that Vladimir Ivan Masters is the father of Daniel Andrew Fenton. You can see them for yourself if you like."

He passed the tests to Danny, who had decided he like the place he fell at as a comfy seat. Danny stared at the tests for a few minutes before Dan stomped over and yanked them out of his hand. I noticed blood coming from his hand after that harsh maneuver, but Danny seemed to be too much in shock to notice.

"Furthermore," Amorpho said, nervously as Dan stared at the test results, "Since Mrs. Masters in unable to keep the estates, and since Mr. Fenton is the eldest son, he will inherit all of his father's property."

Two crashes were heard this time. One was a soft thump, but the other was a loud thud. We all turned at the noises. Both Dan and Danny had fainted. Ember rushed over to her fallen husband while Ms. Manson grabbed a pillow off the couch for Danny. Paulina immediately stood up, placing both hands at her mouth.

"You're not joking?" she demanded, "You are not playing a cruel joke upon my poor husband?"

"No, Mrs. Fenton," Amorpho shook his head, "This is no joke. Your husband inherits all of his uncle's, er, I mean, his father's estates."

"Oh, my fortunate husband!" Paulina shouted, roughly shoving Ms. Manson aside, "Oh! The Great Heavens are smiling upon us! You and I! We will be so happy!"

"And Danielle?" Ms. Manson asked, curtly.

Paulina paid no attention, but hugged the poor senseless man as tears streamed down her face. Ms. Manson glared at her along with Ember, who was currently fanning a notebook over Dan's head in an attempt to revive him.


	17. Chapter 17

**Codiak: It was quite a surprise to me too. Apparently, my brain has the ability to change its plans without telling me! And yes, Sam is very insightful. **

"Well," Jasmine said, still wide-eyed, "That was quite a shock."

I was unable to respond because my mouth was full of my fiancée's blueberry waffles, so I merely nodded my agreement.

"There's something I don't understand," I pondered, when I was able to speak again, "If Vlad's your uncle, isn't somebody in your family related to him?"

"Oh, that," Jasmine giggled, her turquoise orbs sparkling, "No, Danny and I aren't biologo- Wait, no, that's not right. Man, this is going to take some getting used to. I'm not biologically related to Uncle Vlad. Aunt Penny and my mom are sisters. Aunt Penny just changed her last name because she wanted to sound exotic."

"They're sisters and Vlad never noticed?" I asked, amazed.

"Uncle Vlad didn't know until after he Aunt Penny got married. Mom didn't know Aunt Penny was dating Uncle Vlad until the wedding."

"Wow," I said, gulping the last of the waffles, "I'll bet family reunions were pretty awkward."

Jasmine giggled as she cleared the table.

"We never had many family reunions. Though, now I see why."

I heard a Lady Gaga song playing softly in the room. Jasmine reached into her pocket and pulled out a cell phone. She read the text message and put the phone away with a sigh.

"Sorry," she shook her head, "Emergency. One of my clients is having a nervous breakdown, and he's throwing furniture. I have to go."

With a good-bye kiss, she was off. I finished the dishes before leaving the kitchen. Not sure what to do, I decided to take a stroll in the front yard. I flew around the trees a bit before I spotted Dan and Ember on the ground. They appeared to be in the middle of an argument. Of course, I wouldn't dream of eavesdropping, but unfortunately, my shoe lace got caught in one of the branches above the couple, and I was forced to listen as I untied the lace.

"You've always wanted us to live in the RV," Ember said, looking up at Dan in confusion, "Why are you changing your mind?"

"I meant temporarily," he muttered, "Eventually, I would have wanted us to move into a more stable home. With the dairy farm I didn't end up inheriting, I could have enough money for a nice home."

"But, the RV is a nice, stable home for us," his wife reassured.

"Oh, yeah," he snorted, "A bouncing van on tank wheels is real stable. And besides, I have to find some way to make a living for us."

"Honey, you don't-"

"Yes, I do!" Dan interrupted her, "Here I am, flat broke, married to a singer and a model, being forced to allow her to provide for her man. I'm supposed to be providing for my woman! Not the other way around!"

"How many times do I have to tell you, dipstick? You are a providing husband! You provide me and our son with love-"

"Oh, shut up with the sentimentality. How the hell is that supposed to feed us?"

To this, Ember had no answer, but she refused to budge.

"Look, just because we're having some money issues, that doesn't mean I think that you're less of a man. Look at Skulker! He used to provide for me, but I couldn't really care less about that damned cyborg!"

"You still stayed with him," Dan said, raising an eyebrow.

"You know why," Ember furrowed hers, "I felt like I had no choice! But, after Star…"

She trailed off. I peeked over the branch and noticed her eye makeup was running down her face along with several tears.

"After Star.." she repeated, but didn't finish the sentence.

"Okay, hush," Dan said, softly this time.

He took Ember into his arms and hugged her tight. Never had I ever seen this man display any affection for anybody whatsoever until now. It scared me a bit, I must confess.

"It's alright," he soothed as Ember sobbed into his chest, "It's okay. She's in a better place, now. She's looking down at you with a smile on her face, you know that."

In response, Ember sobs became louder. Feeling rather awkward watching this scene, though they never saw me, I flew off towards the mansion. Who was this Star person? What did she have to do with Ember? Ms. Manson mentioned that Ember had a crisis. Maybe she knew the answers.


	18. Chapter 18

I flew back to the mansion in search of Ms. Manson. Hearing a voice in the living room, I flew there, only to see Paulina talking to her lamp.

"Oh!" she exclaimed as I was about to leave, "No, no, Señor! You must stay here! I haven't gotten a chance to talk to you!"

Before I could decline, Paulina grabbed my wrist and steered me over to the couch, which was now littered with cards, stuffed animals, and flowers.

"My co-workers," Paulina said, noticing my expression, "They heard about mi poor niña."

She placed her hands to her face as if she were about to cry, sniffling a little.

"Oh! The world is so good to me!"

"Especially today," I commented.

"Oh! Si! Today was a gift from the gracious God, Himself! Oh, my happy husband!"

With that, she placed a hand to her heart and sighed softly.

"So," I said, trying to figure out how to get out of here, "Ms. Manson tells me that Danielle's doing well."

"Oh, si, she is, my brave hija! She is doing so very well! Los medicos think she'll be out tomorrow."

"Oh, well, that's very good indeed!" I replied, happy that the child was quickly recovering, "I don't suppose the sheriff ever figured out how that branch snapped?"

"Desiree did it, the evil witch!"

"Desiree?" I cried out with surprise.

"Si! It's obvious! She knew her husband was Danny's padre, so she tries to kill mi hija to get back at Danny!"

"For what? Danny didn't do anything wrong."

"Because she's jealous that Vlad, may his soul rest in peace, had a child without! She wants to get revenge on that child for existing!"

"Then why isn't Dan hurt? He's Vlad helped create him too without Desiree's help."

"Dan's too strong for Desiree. He would never succumb to her ill deeds. But my husband! Oh, si. He would fall for her tricks alright. I have to keep a careful eye out for him."

"This still doesn't make sense," I insisted, "Danny was born before Vlad met Desiree. Why would she be jealous of a relationship that happened before she got in the picture?"

"That woman is completely psychotic!" Paulina announced, spreading her arms wide above her head, "Who knows what else is going on in that sick mind of hers! I mean, she hides love letters in a tree! A tree! What kind of hiding place is that, I ask you!"

"Do you think Danielle discovered the letters and that's why Desiree tried to kill her?" I asked, leaning towards the more likely hypothesis.

"Oh!" Paulina shouted, covering her mouth with her hands, "Oh, mi poor hija! What have you gotten yourself into?"

She started sobbing into her hands. I decided that now would be an excellent time to change the topic.

"So, what's that play you're doing?" I asked, hoping that Paulina would snap out of it.

And snap out of it, she did. She lifted her face out of her hands and smiled up at me.

"Oh! It's a wonderful play called _Chicago_! It's about a woman who murders her lover, but she still makes it to the top! I play this dancer named Velma, who gets sent to jail after she kills her husband and her sister, but she makes out and teams up with Roxie, the woman who murdered her lover in the beginning. Oh! It's a wonderful play!"

I didn't see anything wondrous about two murderesses who get off scot free, but I held my tongue. Quite frankly, I didn't think I really had a choice, but to do just that, for Paulina kept talking away.

"It's so wonderful," Paulina continued, "But, it's quite a lot of hard work. I have to do a lot of these rigorous dance moves. You want to see?"

Before I could respond, Paulina grabbed her lamp and started her pole dancing. I must say, I was rather impressed when she hoisted herself up on it and stayed there using only her legs. I was even more impressed when she turned upside down on the lamp and used nothing but her hands to keep her pose. That girl certainly had muscles.

"You like it?" she asked, a little more coyly, "Usually, I just use a rope or a strong scarf on stage, but this will have to do for now. Maybe, I could show you what I can really do with that rope."

"Look at the time!" I loudly exclaimed, practically bolting out of my seat, "I have to go and do that thing that Jasmine wanted me to do at this particular time!"

I flew like Pariah Dark himself was chasing me straight out of hell.


	19. Chapter 19

I flew without paying any attention to where I was going, which is why I accidently sent Ms. Manson sprawling on the floor.

"Oof!" she grunted, as I crashed into her.

We both went tumbling down, though fortunately, nobody got hurt. I apologized and offered Ms. Manson my hand. She accepted it and I helped her hoist herself up.

"Sorry," I apologized again, "I was trying to escape Paulina."

This made Ms. Manson chortle as she smoothed her dress.

"Actually," I continued, "Before Paulina found me, I was looking for you."

"You were?" she asked, confused, "Oh, well, what can I do for you?"

"About that crisis Ember had," I started.

I could see Ms. Manson avoiding my gaze again and try to make herself look smaller, but I continued on.

"Does it have anything to do with somebody named Star?"

"You know?" Ms. Manson gasped, eyes widening.

"Well, I heard about it through the grapevine."

Or through a tree, but she didn't need to know that.

"Oh, let me guess," she snorted, "Paulina's been dramatizing again?"

"Oh, she was dramatizing, alright," I responded, not bothering to let Ms. Manson know that Paulina's target was something else entirely.

"Look," she sighed, "If you really want to know, then I'll tell you. It's better you know the truth than whatever shit that Paulina was babbling about. Just promise me that you won't say anything to Ember. It still breaks her up."

"She won't hear a word from me," I promised.

Ms. Manson looked around before taking my wrist and leading me into a black room. A purple bed stood in the middle of the room as purple furniture surrounded it. As she closed the door, I sat myself down on a purple trunk. Ms. Manson sat herself on the bed.

"Back before Ember started dating Dan, she used to date this cyborg hunter, Skulker."

I knew Skulker from before. He used to be a frequent client of mine before I started teaching at the university.

"Ember and Skulker fought constantly. How they came to the conclusion that they should date each other is a mystery that I'm sure will never be solved, but eventually, Ember broke it off. A few days after she broke it off, she found out that she was pregnant. She went back to Skulker, and they decided to get married after the baby was born.

In the midst of all of the planning for the baby and the wedding, Ember and Skulker would do what they always like to do. Fight each other. Then, three months before the baby was due, Ember gave birth to a girl. She named her Star. Star was really, really small. No bigger than my hand."

Ms. Manson displayed her hand, which was rather small compared to an average woman's.

"As if being small and premature wasn't bad enough, Star had a bad heart. A really bad heart. Both Skulker and Ember were going from doctor to doctor to doctor trying to figure out how to make Star better. Add that to Skulker constantly blaming Ember for all of Star's health problems, you can just imagine how stressed she was."

"He blamed Ember?" I interrupted.

"Yeah, he did. Why, I don't know. Grief I guess."

"What happened to Star?" I asked, feeling a knot form in my stomach.

"She died," Ms. Manson sighed, sadly, "She died when she was six months old. Poor Ember was heartbroken. Skulker immediately cancelled the wedding after the baby's funeral. He didn't even tell her to her face, either. He just packed his stuff from the apartment they were living in and left in the middle of the night. He left a note that said to keep whatever he left in the house, and he never wanted to see her again."

I remembered Skulker looking rather sullen and angry the last few months I saw him, but I never imagined he was experiencing something as major as this! Whenever I asked, he would always brush it aside as "family problems." He disappeared from my life just as sudden as he did in Ember's life as well. I wondered what happened to him, but never really thought about it much.

"Poor Ember," I muttered, "And poor Skulker."

"Yeah," Ms. Manson sighed, "Ember was depressed for months after that."

We sat there silently for a few minutes. Finally, Ms. Manson stood up.

"Well," she said, "I promised Danny that I'd drive him to the hospital to visit Danielle. So, I'll guess I'll see you later. But remember, not a word to Ember."

I nodded in agreement as Ms. Manson left the room. I stayed in it, though. I felt incredibly sorry for Ember. The loss of one child would certainly explain her doting on the other one. But one thing Star's death didn't explain is what that had to do with Vlad Masters or Desiree Masters.


	20. Chapter 20

The rest of the day passed on by without too many events. The only relatively interesting event that I care to report was Youngblood constantly steering poor Bones into a door of a nearby barn.

"Dammit, Youngblood!" Dan shouted, "Quit being a dumbass or you're staying inside for the rest of the day!"

"He's just playing, Dan!" Ember argued, "What's wrong with a little fun?"

"His little fun," Dan countered back, "Isn't good for the damned barn! Look what's he's doing to the door!"

"Oh, yes," Bones said, sarcastically, "It would be a shame if the door were to get a scratch on it versus if the horse were to crack his bones."

"He's just a boy," Ember shouted back, ignoring Bones' lament, "Boys like rough play."

Not caring to hear the rest of the argument, I flew off in search for Jasmine's company. As I flew, I passed Danny and Ms. Manson walking towards the woods. I wondered why they were heading there, but of course, I wouldn't even dream of following them. As they walked, I thought that perhaps Jasmine would like it if I presented her with some flowers. Unfortunately, I had no flowers on hand, so I was forced to go into the woods and just happened to pick the same directions that the couple was taking.

As the couple stopped they started talking to each other. Of course, I have already stated that I wouldn't dream of eavesdropping, but I happened to see a patch of yellow flowers growing nearby, so I was forced to listen as I picked them.

"Danny," Ms. Manson said, "Calm down. Everything will work out."

"You don't know that," he rebutted, "I just…I just don't know what to do with all this."

"You'll figure it out, and I'll help you," she replied.

She reached up and brushed a strand of hair away from his face. I found this movement rather odd for a secretary to make to her employer, but stranger things have happened in the Masters family.

"No, no, no," he sighed, "You don't understand. I'm not business savvy! I don't know the first thing about what to do with Uncle, I mean, with my father's dairy farm let alone the rest of his property.

"Your property," Ms. Manson corrected.

"But, I don't want any of this, Sam!" he shouted, desperately, "What am I going to do with all of it?"

"Danny," Ms. Manson said, sternly, "Listen to me. You're smart and intelligent, and no wonder. Both of your parents were scientists-"

"My mom and my stepdad were scientists," he interrupted.

"And you're biologically father. Remember Danny, Vlad owned Axion Labs. He obviously knew what he was doing. And your sister's a doctor who's going to marry a professor of the most recommended schools for ghosts and humans alike. You've got the smarts, you just need to figure out how to use them."

"Yeah, well, Dan's parents were both smart. Aunt Penny was a doctor and Uncle, I mean, man, this is going to take some getting used to, my father was a scientist and look how my cous-. Damn it, this is really going to take some getting used to. My b..b..br…"

He seemed unable to finish the sentence himself, so Ms. Manson supplied the answer for him.

"Brother?"

"This is really going to take a lot of getting used to."

"He can be smart, too. He's just using his brain in the wrong field. Finances aren't his thing."

"They're not my thing, either!"

"Okay, let's test that out," she smirked, folding her arms, "Would you be willing to fund Axion Labs?"

"Of course I would. They develop the greatest ghost-hunting crime lab technology in the world! Even better than whatever poor excuse Walker's got for a crime lab down in Spitoon, or whatever swamp he crawled out of."

"Okay. Now, what about the dairy farm?"

"The dairy farm's got the best milking machines, churners, and whatever else that I have ever seen! Not only that, but all cattle are kept clean, healthy, and safe. No hormones ever touch the cows, and only the best feed are provided for them. Of course I'd fund the farm!"

"And Youngblood's education?"

"Are you kidding me? Everybody in this mansion knows that Youngblood's going to drop out of high school the moment that he can. Hell, the kid failed first grade and kindergarten twice."

I bit my lip to keep from laughing out loud.

"What good would a college education do for him?" Danny finished.

"Good," Ms. Manson nodded, "Now, what about Paulina's shows?"

"Well," he blushed, rubbing the back of his neck.

"If you weren't married to Paulina, would you fund her shows?"

"Hell no!" Danny replied, "She overdramatizes every little thing. The thing about actors is that they're supposed to act natural, not act crazy."

As I listened to his reasoning for his positions, I was astounded. This man barely says two words a day per person, shirking back like we were bubonic plague carriers, and yet, here he is demonstrating his talents in a logical order! I almost applauded when he finished.

"See?" Sam said, the smirk was replaced by a genuine smile, "You are financially smart."

"Thanks, but…" he sighed, before shaking his head, "I don't know about this. I'm still not sure. Maybe…Maybe I should just give it to Dan. He's the one that wants all this."

"Dan's going to declare bankruptcy on Monday," Sam said, "He's really not the guy for the job."

"Yeah, but… I'm still not sure."

"Everything will be just fine, Danny," Ms. Manson said, softly.

Again, I thought it rather odd that a secretary would wrap her arms around her employer's waist like Ms. Manson was doing.

"All you have to do," she whispered, "Is to let me help you, and I'll guide your way."

She kissed him on the lips. His eyes closed as he kissed her back, moving his hands up and down her spine, caressing the flesh on it. No longer wondering why this secretary was being touchy with her employer, I figured now would be an excellent time to present my gift to my fiancée.


	21. Chapter 21

**Codiak: The plot will thicken even more. Yes, Paulina is a very, very terrible mother. I like sneaking the characters from the show into the story. And oh snap indeed! Bad Danny! You're married!**

**p.s. Thanks for the fave!**

I found my fiancée soaking wet in her bedroom.

"My patient was aggravated today," she said, responding to my stare.

As Jasmine walked towards her closet for a towel, she shuddered. Later, she would tell me that a bit of static electricity had run through her body, which would explain why her hair was standing up on end.

"My patient was very aggravated today," she growled.

"Well," I said, presenting the flowers, "Perhaps, this will cheer up your mood."

Her eyes sparkled as she let out a joyful squeal.

"Oh, Technus!" Jasmine cooed, "They're beautiful! I need to find a-"

She was interrupted by another shot of static.

"I'll find a vase for you while you dry off," I volunteered.

Five minutes later, I had found a yellow vase decorated with red flower buds. I put the flowers inside the vase and presented them to my now dry fiancée. She placed the vase on a bookshelf and admired them, cuddling up next to me in the process. She was shivering cold, and no wonder with her previous state. I picked her up and flew to the bed. I placed on the center as I laid down next to her.

As we continued our cuddling, Ms. Manson's words kept running in my mind. She had told me that Vlad was a shrewd man who knew much about a person with just one meeting. I wondered if he knew about Danny's financial talents. I most certainly hadn't until Danny presented his prowess in front of me, without his knowledge, of course.

"Jasmine," I started.

"Hm?" she answered.

"Ms. Manson told me that your uncle was had a perceptive mind when it came to people."

"That's right. He did."

She propped herself up on my chest using her arms. Her eyes sparkled with curiosity.

"Where are you going with this?" Jasmine asked.

"I'm wondering," I replied, "What made Vlad leave Dan with the sports souvenirs and you with the money in his will. He must have had some reason, didn't he?"

"I suppose so," Jasmine bowed her head in thought, "I guess he left Dan the Packers things to try to inspire him to go into sports or some other physical activity. That's what he's good at."

"And the money?"

She thought a little more before shaking her head with a frustrated groan.

"The only thing I can think of for the money is A Child's Memory."

"A Child's Memory?" I asked, bemused.

"You know that Danny and I are orphans, right?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, Dr. Bertrand and I have been working on this project for orphans called A Child's Memory. It's where we ask an orphaned child to tell us his or her most treasured memory. Every month, we pick a memory and grant whatever wish the memory's owner might have. Within reason, of course."

"So," I said, slowly, "It's like Make A Wish?"

"Exactly. Only, we haven't started it, yet. The project's still in the planning stages. And frankly, Dr. Bertrand and I were about to scrap the idea all together."

"Why?" I asked, "It would be a good thing for a poor child!"

"Yeah, it would be, but it would also be costly, especially since we want this to be a nonprofit organization."

"Did your uncle know that?"

"Yeah, he did. Uncle Vlad was quite interested in psychology since Aunt Penny was a psychologist, herself. I told him about our scrapping the plan just last month."

"But, now, you don't need to do that, anymore!"

I sat up in the bed. Jasmine sat up with me.

"That's why he left you the money. He knew you'd use it for a good cause, and a successful one at that."

"But," Jasmine refuted, "He couldn't possibly have known that he was going to die so soon. If he really cared about the project so much, why not just give us the money when I mentioned it?"

"Would you have accepted it?"

"Of course not! I can't do that! He's almost like a father figure to me! I couldn't possibly take advantage of him like that!"

"See. That's why he left the money in his will instead of just giving it to you right then. The project might not have worked then, but now that you have a little boost, you and this other doctor can get to work on it."

"That's true," she smiled.

"By the way," I asked, lying back down and taking Jasmine with me, "About that other doctor. He's not cuter than me, is he."

I was rewarded with a playful swat on my shoulder.

"That doesn't answer my question," I smirked, "Is he cuter than me?"

"Oh," she sighed, "You men and your jealousy issues. No, he's not. He's not even my type anyway. I don't want to date midgets."

"Midgets?" I chortled, "Dr. Bernie is a midget?"

"Yes, Dr. Bertrand is a midget. He doesn't even reach five feet."

We both laughed out loud, but our amusement was interrupted by a BANG! Jasmine and I looked at each other wide-eyed with terror. Paulina's screaming downstairs did nothing to alleviate our anxiety.

"Policia! Policia! Policia! Mi poor husband! Help him! Policia!"

Jasmine and I shot out of bed and bolted downstairs. We followed Paulina's voice towards the living room and gasped in shock and horror. Danny was crying out in pain on the floor as Dan was wrapping a bandage around Danny's leg. Jasmine immediately went over to her brother's side as Youngblood peeked out from behind the sofa in fear as he watched his father help the wounded man. Ember was already on the phone with the police, but she had to raise her voice to be heard over Paulina, who was occupied with screaming, running around and circles, and flailing her arms above her head.

"What happened?" I shouted above Paulina's wailing.

"Oh, mi poor esposo!" Paulina lamented, flinging herself at me.

I noticed Jasmine give her an evil glare, but she returned to comforting her brother.

"Somebody shot him!" Paulina continued, "Somebody shot my poor husband from behind the curtains!"


	22. Chapter 22

"Like I said," Danny answered Sheriff Walker, weakly, "I don't know who shot me. They were behind the curtain!"

Sheriff Walker continued to glare at Danny as the rest of the family was being questioned by the other officers. I had already finished my interrogation with an officer, so I listened to Danny's interrogation.

"Alright, now just calm down," the sheriff growled, "Tell me what happened. Why were you in the living room?"

"I was in the Observatory and wanted to look at the stars through my telescope, only I realized that I left my astronomy book in the living room. I went downstairs to get it. When I bent over to pick it up, somebody shot me in the back of the leg. I fell down, turned to see who did it, but I only saw the curtain rustling rather fast, which is weird because the window wasn't open."

"Oh!" Paulina wailed, placing a hand against her forehead, "First, mi chica, then mi esposo! Oh! The world is cruel!"

She fell to the floor as if she had fainted, but no one came to her aid.

"Finally," I heard the sheriff mutter before addressing us all, "Who came down here, first?"

"I did," Ember looked up from the officer interviewing her, "I was playing with Youngblood in the kitchen, heard the dipstick scream, and ran to see what was wrong. Paulina followed me, then Dan, and then Jasmine and the geezer."

I shot Ember an annoyed look, but she only rolled her eyes at me.

"Well, you are," she insisted.

"Where's Ms. Manson?" Sheriff Walker asked.

I looked around the room and noticed that she wasn't amongst us. Where was she?

"It's her day off," Danny answered, wincing, "Sam volunteers at the Humane Society every Saturday night."

"Kwan!" Sheriff Walker shouted.

"Yes, sir?" responded an Asian officer interviewing Dan.

"Call the Humane Society and make sure that Ms. Manson is actually there!"

"Yes, sir!" the officer saluted.

"Now, then Phantom," Sheriff Walker glared at Dan, "Just what exactly do you think you were doing messing around in my crime scene?"

"What?" Dan glared back, his hair sparking menacingly, "I'm supposed to just leave him there and let him bleed all over the carpet?"

"Yeah," Jasmine snorted, "It would be a shame if the carpet was ruined."

Dan glared at her before turning back to the sheriff.

"I was bandaging him up," Dan continued, "No crime in there, is there?"

"You know," Sheriff Walker responded, casually, "I called Amorpho about who inherits Masters' estates after we took Mrs. Masters away. He told me something rather surprising."

"What?" Dan sneered, "That the wuss and I are br…br…bro.."

Dan looked like he was about to be sick at the thought of just uttering the word before Ember came to his rescue.

"Brothers?"

"Yeah, that."

"Not only that," the sheriff continued, "But that you're having some money problems? You're going bankrupt, aren't you?"

"Yes," Dan replied, uneasily, "Sam advised me that bankruptcy would be the best. Wait, hold on one damned minute!"

His hair started doing its angry dance again.

"Are you implying that I shot him?" he demanded.

"I didn't say that, Phantom. You did," the detective responded.

"Oh no!" Ember shouted, her hair started flaming wildly as well, "You're barking up the wrong tree! Dan could not possibly have shot that dipstick."

"You fiend!" Paulina screamed, shooting up from her fainted pose, "You're jealous of my husband's happiness!"

She ran over to Danny and squeezed him tightly, ignoring his cries of pain.

"You were always jealous of my husband's happiness!"

"Shut the hell up, drama queen!" Dan shouted before turning back to Sheriff Walker, "I did not shoot the little shrimp!"

"And," Sheriff Walker continued as if he hadn't heard a word, "You framed your stepmother. You got her out of the way, well, all that beautiful money comes to you, doesn't it?"

"Whatever the hell you're smoking, Walker," Dan continued, "There is no possibility that it is legal in any way! If I'd wanted to get rid of my stepmother, I would have killed her myself. Besides, I don't even have a gun!"

"Gun, or no gun," I said, finally speaking, "This no doubt proves that Desiree's innocent in this, doesn't it?"

"Oh! You deceitful, horrible man! Blaming that poor, innocent woman!" Paulina shouted at Dan.

All the while, she hugged Danny tighter and tighter. The poor man was grimacing so much in pain, that the gigantic bipedal wolf paramedic tried to steer Paulina away from the patient. As he did so, Sheriff Walker mumbled angrily something I couldn't hear, turning red all the while.

"I'm sorry?" I asked.

"I said," he shouted, angrily, "Sometimes the police make a mistake."

"Well," Dan screamed as his hair relentlessly twirled about, "You're making one hell of a mistake right now, Sherlock, if you even think I had anything to do with this! Hell, you're basically saying that I killed my father! My own father!"

"Making a confession?" Sheriff Walker sneered.

"That's it!" Dan shouted, "I'm not answering any more questions. I want my damned lawyer! Ember call Amorpho!"

Ember stalked off angrily, glaring at the detective as she passed. Dan soon followed suit. Paulina glared at the door as Jasmine and I looked at each other in confusion.

"Humph!" Paulina snorted, "Such a horrible man! You would do best to arrest him at once!"

"We'll get a search warrant for the place," Sheriff Walker grunted, "In the meantime, Fenton needs to go to the hospital. Take him away."

The wolf-like ghost muttered something as he passed, though whatever it was, I'm sure it wasn't in English. Paulina watched them go as the sheriff pulled back the disputed curtain. He grunted in satisfaction before stalking off. I looked myself, but I saw was a window and an air vent. Paulina sighed before placing a hand on her forehead.

"All this excitement! I am tired! If only someone would help me to my room!"

Jasmine and I just stood there and stared. Eventually, Paulina got the hint and helped herself to her room, but not before glaring at us. After she had gone, we decided to retire to bed as well. We climbed up the stairs together and I almost tripped over an open box standing in the middle of the hallway.

"Dammit," Jasmine cursed, helping me up, "I've told Dan to take that stuff inside his room."

"What is it?" I asked.

"Just the Packers stuff Uncle Vlad gave him."

I stared inside the box and noticed something glint underneath a jersey. Bending over, I removed the jersey and stared at the object.

"Do the Packers sell guns?"

Jasmine was stooped down to join me in staring at the weapon inside the box.


	23. Chapter 23

**Codiak: Yes! Yes, it's Danny's turn to be tormented and thank you!**

"Dammit, Phantom!" Sheriff Walker shouted the next morning, "Get your ass down here now!"

In response, Dan opened his window and flipped the detective off before slamming his window back down and locking it up. A second later, a green dome surrounded his window, warding everybody away from his room. I looked over to Jasmine who merely shook her head sadly. Paulina started clinging onto Officer Baxter as another officer held Youngblood and Ember back from the mansion.

"You've got the wrong guy!" she continued to insist, "My husband would never kill his father! He adored his father! He's being framed! Can't you idiots see that?"

"Oh!" Paulina cried out, doing one of her favorite maneuvers of placing a hand dramatically to her forehead, "I am so afraid of that man! I fear for my very life!"

The sheriff ignored them and continued to shout at the locked and shielded window.

"Phantom, if you don't come here in the next thirty seconds, I'm releasing the dog!"

The dog in question was actually a cute, little green puppy who was in the process of receiving kisses and cuddles from Ms. Manson. Ms. Manson had Sundays off, too, so her business suit was still not on. The puppy's handler, a young tattooed woman with a spiky Mohawk, looked rather bored at the whole affair.

"Twenty seconds!"

Still no Dan. Sheriff Walker growled as he timed the wanted spook.

"Ten! Nine! Eight! Seven! Six! Five! Four! Three! Two! This is your last warning! Come out or the dog goes in!"

The window remained closed.

"One! Release the hound!"

The trainer bent down and undid the hound's leash. The puppy, who had been preoccupied with chasing its tail for the amusement of the ladies, suddenly grew ten times its original size and growled ferociously. Paulina screamed in shock as the dog walked straight to Dan's window and released a mighty bark. The bark broke down Dan's ghost shield and shattered his window. Then the dog stuck his head in to retrieve his prize, but drew it back out with a look of confusion.

"What the-?" Sheriff Walker grunted.

He flew up to the window and looked for himself, but came back out with a mighty scream of outrage. The poor dog was so frightened by the sudden outburst, he shrunk back to a puppy and hid behind his trainer.

"Get inside the house and search every corner!" the sheriff bellowed, "Move your asses!"

The officers standing by quickly obeyed the command. Officer Baxter had somehow gotten Paulina to remove her grip on him and went after his comrades. However, they all came back out ten minutes later empty-handed.

"Sir?" Baxter addressed his superior, "The back door flying open and the suspect's RV's missing."

"What?" Sheriff Walker demanded, as Paulina wailed in despair.

"We found tire tracks leading away from the house towards the woods."

"How in the hell did we not here a vehicle?" the detective demanded, "Oh, never mind! Go after him, you idiots! As for the rest of you."

Sheriff Walker turned to face us.

"Don't go anywhere near Phantom! He's considered dangerous!"

"Bullshit!" Ember shouted.

"You can all go back in the house, now," Sheriff Walker went on, ignoring the musician's outburst.

"But," the actress interrupted, clinging onto the sheriff, "But what if he comes back to kill me!"

As the detective attempted to brush Paulina off of her, Ms. Manson gave the puppy a farewell pat before following Jasmine and myself inside the house.

"I cannot believe that Dan would actually kill his father," Ms. Manson said.

"That was certainly a surprise for all of us," I agreed.

"No, you don't get it," Ms. Manson replied, stopping and folding her arms, "I cannot and will not believe that Dan killed Vlad. It's impossible! The man loved his father!"

"Well," Jasmine replied, "We did find the gun in Dan's stuff. And Walker was able to confirm that the gun we found is the same one that shot Danny."

"Do you even hear yourself?" Ms. Manson asked, tilting her head, "Think about it for a minute. Why would Dan need a gun to hurt Danny if he's got his powers? Dan might not be full ghost, but he's still more ghost than Danny."

Jasmine and I stared at one another in shock. Ms. Manson brought up a good point.

"And why hurt Danielle?" Ms. Manson continued, "Dan might not the pleasantest guy on the planet, but he certainly wouldn't hurt children, let alone his niece. Hell, Dan's the closest thing that Danielle has to father, you know that."

And we did know that. As many times as Dan might yell at the poor child, I highly doubt he might actually harm her. During our thoughts, Sheriff Walker came skulking by, without Paulina in tow, muttering under his breath.

"Dammit," he cursed, "How in the hell did he manage to give us the slip without any of us knowing?"

"I guess you haven't caught him?" I inquired.

"No," the sheriff, grumbled, "But mark my words, I will catch him and I'll enjoy reaming his ass over the coals!"

He walked towards the door, but then turned back.

"Before I forget, Ms. Manson, I had one of my officers call the Humane Society last night, but the place said you called and cancelled your shift. Not that it matters, of course, since we know who the real murderer is, but you mind telling me where you were at?"

"I ran into my parents on the way there," Ms. Manson answered, furrowing her brows, "They said that they wanted me back and asked if we could talk about it over dinner. I made the biggest mistake of my life and agreed. That night went oh, so well. They kept belittling my views and criticizing my way of life. I'm never agreeing to anything with them ever again."

Sheriff Walker nodded his head, content at Ms. Manson's explanation, and walked out. Ms. Manson stomped upstairs with a growl as Jasmine and I stared at each other.

"You don't think…?" she didn't finish her question, but there was no need.

"Do you?" I asked, wondering the same question myself.


	24. Chapter 24

**Codiak: Don't worry. All of the confusion will be relieved eventually. Just not now.**

Jasmine and I both tried to talk to Ms. Manson alone, but for the past hour, either Ms. Manson was busy with Paulina's dramatics and Ember's meltdowns, or she wasn't anywhere to be seen. I decided to search through the house one more time, but first, I had to find some earplugs. Ember's argument with Paulina was getting rather loud.

"Where is it, bitch?" Ember demanded.

"For the last time, I don't know! I don't have it!" Paulina countered, "Maybe your murderous husband took it!"

"You damn well know my husband's been framed!" Ember shouted, "Hell, you know Walker's had a grudge on Dan since high school!"

"Murderer or no murderer, I don't have your stupid tape recorder! Why don't you talk to your little brat!"

"How dare you! My son would never touch my stuff without permission!"

"By the way," Paulina said, curtly, "If Dan really didn't try to kill my husband, then someone else did."

"Wow. Nice detective skills there, Sherlock."

"Like yourself, for instance!"

"How dare you! I was playing with my in the kitchen! What about you! Where the hell were you!"

"Hello? Did you not hear the loud music in my room! I was practicing!"

"With my tape recorder!"

As the women continued to argue, I cast Jasmine a questioning glance.

"Paulina likes to 'borrow' Ember's tape recorder. Paulina claims she only uses it to critique her singing, but personally, I think she uses it because she likes to hear herself talk."

"And Walker's grudge?" I asked.

"He and Dan were both on the wrestling team in high school, only they went to different schools. Dan would beat Walker at every match. Everybody loved 'The Phantom' and laughed at 'The Ruler,' aka Dan and Walker respectively."

"Huh," I grunted, "I wondered why Walker called Dan 'Phantom' instead of 'Masters.'"

"Well," Jasmine said with her sparkling eyes, "Now you know."

A Lady Gaga song softly played, causing my fiancée to groan.

"Excuse me, I have to take this," she sighed, answering the phone, "Fenton? Yes, Vortex, this is actually Dr. Jasmine Fenton. No, Vortex, I am not an answering machine. Yes, I understand you dislike psychotic answering machine robots."

I chuckled to myself as Jasmine walked away, still trying to reassure her patient. I walked towards my room, but on the way, I bypassed Vlad's room. At first, I just glanced at the insides out of the corner of my eye, but then, did a double-take as I noticed the room was occupied. I tried to go inside to see what was going on, only to be stopped by two men in white.

"I'm sorry," the African-American said, "But only authorized personal are allowed in here."

"You're going to have to leave," his partner addressed me.

"Leave?" I demanded furiously, "Excuse me, but I'm engaged to one of the residents."

"It's alright," a familiar voice said from behind the men, "He's okay. Let him in."

With a grunt, the men in white stepped inside, allowing me to gawk in surprise at Desiree.

"Sorry," she muttered, quickly shoving things into various suitcases, "I asked Sheriff Walker if he could spare a few officers to protect me from Dan and Ember's wrath when I got back, and these two, apparently, take their jobs a bit too seriously."

"We take our jobs very seriously," one of the men replied.

"Affirmative," his partner grunted.

"So," I turned back to Desiree as she continued packing, "Where are you going?"

"I'm leaving with Nocturne," she replied, "We're going to get married next month, and I want to leave this place as soon as possible!"

"I suppose you'll be allowed to keep the estates, then?" I asked, curiously.

Surprisingly, she shook her head.

"Absolutely not!" she exclaimed, "As much as I loved Vlad, I do not want to be trapped in my own house anymore! Amorpho has already told me about Danny's true parentage and informed me that if I reject my inheritance, then it shall be passed on to Danny. I've already told Danny I'm letting him keep everything."

"You told him? How? Telephone?"

"I went over to the hospital myself," she said, "And asked Danny that I only keep the spa. Vlad had the spa built for me. Of course, Danny agreed."

"How's he doing by the way?" I asked.

"Oh, he's fine. They're releasing him and Danielle today."

"They're releasing Danny so soon?"

"Luckily, the bullet bypassed any bones or important nerves in his body and didn't do much damage. Ms. Manson's with him now."

Which would explain why Jasmine and I were unable to find her. With a sigh, Desiree snapped shut her suitcase and picked it up. Her bodyguards picked up the remaining suitcases.

"Well," she sighed, "I'm off. I wish you and Jasmine the best of luck and many happy years. But mostly luck, especially with this family."

I thanked her for her wishes and bid her good-bye. Before she left, I noticed a small object shining underneath the bed.

"Wait!" I cried out to her, "I think you forgot an earring!"

She turned back as I bent down to the object. On closer examination, I realized I was wrong.

"Oh, never mind," I corrected myself, "It's just a screw. Did you lose a screw on your furniture or something?"

"No," she replied, shaking her head, "None of my furniture has screws. At least, I don't think so."

"Do you know where this came from?"

She shook her head again and turned around, once again, bidding me good luck. I stared at the screw for some time. I don't know why, really. It was such a small sort of thing to lose one's mind over it, and if it weren't for the fact that my fiancée's uncle was murdered, I would have thrown the thing away. But, something irked me about it.

I don't know what made me look up, but I did. The only thing on the ceiling was the vent above the bed. I looked back at the screw before flying up to the vent. It was hinged with screw holes. I looked at the holes closely and noticed not one, but two screws were missing. The only reason the vent wasn't open was because it fit so snugly to the ceiling.

"So," I muttered to myself, "That's how the murderer got inside a locked and shielded room."


	25. Chapter 25

**Codiak: Thank you!**

Since there were no screws keeping the vent from opening, I had little trouble removing the cover. What I did have trouble with, though was squeezing myself inside. Now, I am in no sense whatsoever an athletic sort of man. In fact, I have so little muscles on my body; I look like Paulina's lamp minus the top part. Yet, I was confronted with a space that made my tiny computer lab look like Taj Mahal. Nevertheless, I finally managed to squeeze myself in there with a little squirming and a lot of butter that I went down to the kitchen to steal.

The first thing I did when entering the metallic space was to make sure I had my allergy medicine in my pocket. The place was so dusty, I was afraid my large bouts of sneezing would send me into a choking fit. Not that I could reach towards my pocket anyways, since my arm was in front of my head, but no matter. Still, sneezing, I crawled forward in the cramped place, shuddering as I passed the various dead spiders and insects in my path. As I crawled, I looked down into the slots, shaking every vent cover I could find while searching for a likely starting point for the killer. The first thing I passed as I looked down the vent was my fiancée massaging her forehead as she spoke to her client on the phone.

"For the millionth time," I heard her sigh, "I am not a robot. Yes, I am certain that I am not a robot. I am one hundred percent certain that I am not a robot."

Here's an interesting project to do at home. Try holding in your laughter while you're in the middle of trying to hold in your sneezes. Feels great, doesn't it? Anyways, I started crawling as fast as I could when my sneezes threatened to kick in again. I passed each and every room in the upstairs ventilation system, still shuddering at the numerous dead bugs that occupied the space with me. In the last room I encountered upstairs, I looked down at the slots and saw Ember texting on her cell phone with Youngblood on her lap.

"What did he say?" the boy demanded from his mother, "What did he say?"

Ember allowed him to take her phone. The child read the message and wrinkled his nose.

"Time?" he demanded, "What does that mean?"

"I think it's a code for something," his mother answered, taking the phone back, "Probably in case Walker tries to take my phone or something."

There was absolutely no doubt in my mind that Ember and Youngblood were texting to Dan. Probably, asking if he was alright and where he was hiding. However, this got me thinking. If I was right about the murderer entering Vlad's room through the ventilation system, and I was quite sure that I was, then Dan couldn't have possibly killed his father. He's too big! He couldn't possibly fit vent! Hell, I could barely fit inside myself, and that's only because I had to use butter!

I shook the vent cover above Ember's head, but just like all of the other covers upstairs, it wouldn't budge. I crawled back to Vlad's room and, by some miracle, managed to squirm out of the hole, though my landing wasn't exactly very pleasant. Massaging my pain away, I flew downstairs towards the living room where Danny was shot. I remembered that Sheriff Walker had pulled back a curtain and revealed a vent. I wondered if that vent was missing some screws as well.

After making sure that Paulina wasn't strip-teasing for the sofa's amusement, I pulled back the living room curtain and looked up at the gold-plated vent cover. Lo and behold, this one was missing its screws, too. Sighing sadly to myself, I wriggled inside, still slippery from applying the butter lotion from my last encounter. Again, I crawled inside the dark metallic tomb of various bugs and spiders as I tested each and every vent cover in the downstairs. Through the slots of the hallway vent, I heard Paulina talking on her cell phone.

"Oh, Johnny," the brunette sighed, "You are so very kind to me just as the world is cruel."

Johnny? Who's Johnny?

"Oh, si," she continued, "Si, it breaks my heart into pieces to know that somebody had tried to rob me of mi esposoa y mi chica."

There were a few moments of silence before Paulina spoke again.

"Oh, Johnny, you are too kind to me. I shall come straight away, but I must be home in a couple hours. They are coming home. But, I would still like to take up your offer of crying on your shoulder."

I had a feeling that Paulina was going to do a lot more to Johnny than just cry on his shoulder, but, it wasn't my marriage. I shook the cover, found it bolted up tight, and moved on. As I turned a corner, I nearly jumped out of my skin as a parrot stared back at me with wide eyes.

"Aughh!" we both screamed.

"Bones?" I asked after recovering from my fright, "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Shouldn't I be asking you the same question?" he demanded.

"I'm looking for something," I replied.

"In an air vent?" he asked, skeptically.

"You haven't answered my question," I reminded him.

"I'm hiding," he sighed, rolling his eyes, "This is the only place I can hide from that little brat."

"If you don't like him so much," I asked, "Why not just leave?"

"Because I'm being punished, that's why. I used to work for this circus owner, and occasionally, I would help myself to a tiny bit of the profits. I earned that money, anyways. But somehow, that freak ringleader found out, cursed me to take any animal shape except human, and showed me off like one of his exhibits. Later, when the circus disbanded, that old man bought me and gave me to that little whiny spawn of hell. Now, what about you? You never really answered my question fully."

"Alright," I rolled my eyes, "I found out Vlad's killer must have used the air vent to get into his room the night he died. I'm trying to find a likely starting point for the killer."

"Hmm," the bird thought, "Interesting. That would make sense. There's no other possible way for the murderer to have broken in! But, you're looking at the wrong floor. The downstairs and the upstairs ventilation systems are separate. I'm not sure, why though, but they are."

"I already looked upstairs. I'm looking down here to search for Danny's shooter."

"The vent behind the curtain. I forgot about that."

"Wait. How did you get in, anyway. A parrot can't fit through the slots."

"No, but a fly can. You forget, I can shape-shift into any animal I want, except for human."

"Speaking of flies," I said, facing a pile of deceased insects, "Why are there so many dead ones in here? I expected a few dead bugs, but a lot more live ones."

"I've no idea," the bird said, staring at the pile, "They were perfectly fine a couple days ago. Maybe your killer doesn't like bugs and sprayed for them before committing the deed. Suggests a woman, I'd say. Probably sexist, but if you think about it, a woman would have the perfect body type to fit in the ventilation system. Might be rather tight, but she'd fit in better than you."

I had to admit, Bones had a point. The women in the Masters mansion would fit here much better than I could. Hell, I'd bet they wouldn't have to use butter, especially Ms. Manson. One thing I couldn't understand though was motive. Why would she kill Vlad. Better yet, why would she kill harmless insects when numerous people here told me she couldn't eat a chicken? Well, I suppose I'd have to check her alibi with her parents since Sheriff Walker was deadest on pinning the blame on Dan.

"Why," Bones started, bringing me out of my thoughts, "Are you so interested in Vlad's death? I understand your engaged to his niece, but surely that can't have anything to do with this morbid curiosity, does it?"

"Well, at first, I was only investigating this so the sheriff wouldn't suspect Jasmine, but I must confess, I'm just all caught up with the thrill and excitement of playing detective."

And it was true! Until I became engaged to Jasmine, I could only fantasize myself as a detective! Now, I'm an actual one, if not official.

"Let me just remind you," the parrot said, "Curiosity killed the cat."

With that, he walked off and turned into a corner I had already investigated. I shrugged to myself and continued onwards. I came to the bathroom and discovered a piece of a pink cloth stuck to a slot. As I tested the cover, I discovered it opened rather easily after shaking it! I had just discovered the place where the killer started off before he, though most likely she, had shot Danny!

As I wriggled myself out of the vent, it occurred to me Bones could easily get into the vent himself, as he had already stated. Not only that, he could easily slide into Vlad's room with no one noticing, morph himself into a powerful animal, and start stabbing him. Suddenly, Bone's warning sounded more like a threat.


	26. Chapter 26

Two hours later, Jasmine had finally hung up on her clingy patient, allowing us to finally talk about the case together. I told Jasmine about what had happened while she was on her phone and showed her the pink cloth.

"Well, I highly doubt it's Sam's," she said, examining it closely, "She absolutely despises pink. I'm certain I don't have anything pink in my closet, so I don't think this is mine."

"What would you be doing in an air vent, anyways?" I asked, "You didn't kill him."

"I might have," she smirked, her eyes sparkling along.

"For what reason? You had no idea you were going to inherit so much money until after Vlad died, not before. So, you have no motive."

"Nice work, detective. Now let's get back to this scrap. Like I said, I don't think it's mine. It might be Ember's, but I'm not so certain. More likely, this belongs to Paulina."

"So, either Paulina herself was in the vent, or somebody stole something of Paulina's and tried to frame her, I'm guessing."

"If your theory about Bones is right, well, it wouldn't be too difficult for him to take something of Paulina's without her noticing."

"First, though, I'd like to know if Ms. Manson's alibi with her parents checks out."

"That's rather easy to do," Jasmine said with a smile, "I've got her mom's phone number in my cell."

I stared at her in surprise as she took out her cell phone.

"Wait," I asked, wide-eyed, "Why do you have her mom's number?"

"She's a patient of mine," she replied, flipping open the phone, "Now, all you have to do is just ask if Sam had dinner with her last night."

"You want me to do it?"

"Well, I can't do it. She'll recognize my voice."

"What if she asks who I am? What do I say?"

"Just say you're investigating a murder case. That's all. She'll take it from there. Now, go."

She shoved the phone towards me and told me to press the big black button in the middle of the keypad. I was shaking nervously as I waited for the woman to pick up.

"Hello?" a voice inquired.

"Hi," I squeaked.

"Yes, hello?" the woman replied, impatiently.

Jasmine motioned me to go on.

"I'm investigating a homicide," I managed to get my voice back under control, "And I need to ask you a few questions. Are you Mrs. Manson?"

"Yes, I am. Homicide! My goodness! I'll answer your questions, but I don't know anything about a homicide! My goodness!"

"Yes, it is quite a shock. You have a daughter named Sam, don't you?"

"Samantha! Oh, my gosh! Is she alright? Tell me she's alright! She wasn't the victim, was she? It's that low life Daniel! Isn't it? He's the reason she went south! I swear, if Daniel did anything to my daughter-"

"Your daughter's perfectly fine," I interrupted, "I'm just checking an alibi of hers. She claims she went out to dinner with you and your husband last night. Is this true?"

"Of course it's true! Why wouldn't it be? You don't honestly think that my daughter had anything to do with this, do you? It's Daniel you idiots need to be looking at, not Samantha!"

"Thank you for your cooperation, Mrs. Manson."

"Is she-"

I hung up before she finished her sentence, suddenly understanding why Ms. Manson did not like to speak about her parents.

"Her alibi checks out. She was with her parents last night."

"Well, we can cross somebody else off our list. Which leaves us with Ember, Paulina, Bones, Youngblood, and myself."

"Youngblood? Why Youngblood? He's just a kid."

"Kids have gone murderous before. Besides, he can fit inside a ventilation system, not to mention his powers aren't completely developed yet, thus the need for a gun last night."

"But why kill the bugs? He doesn't strike me as the arachnophobia kind of kid."

She didn't have time to answer me. We heard Paulina's squeals of delight from downstairs.

"Mi familia!" she cried out, "Oh, you have come back to me!"

We headed downstairs and greeted Danielle and Danny. The latter was on crutches while the former was in a wheelchair.

"Feeling better?" I asked the both of them.

"I guess," the girl shrugged as her mother continued to make a fuss.

"Yeah, me too," the father replied.

"We must celebrate!" Paulina insisted, clapping her hands together, "And I know just what we will do! I am going to take mi little chica out for some ice-cream!"

"In November?" Ms. Manson asked, carrying various pieces of luggage in her arms.

"Si! Why not! Nothing is ever out of season for mi perfect little chica!"

Danielle looked slightly uncomfortable at all of the attention her mother was suddenly doting on her, not that Youngblood noticed.

"I wanna go!" he demanded, "I wanna go for ice-cream too! Mom, I wanna go for ice-cream!"

For once, Ember seemed a bit reluctant to give in to her son's demands.

"Honey, I think that this is more of mother daughter kind of thing. I'll take you out for ice-cream!"

"Oh, no, no, no!" Paulina said, pinching Youngblood's cheeks, "This little chico is more than welcome to have ice-cream with Tia Paulina! You stay home and practice your violin or whatever it is you play."

"Guitar," Ember snarled, folding her arms.

"Come along!" Paulina said, wheeling her daughter to the car as Youngblood happily followed.

Danielle looked back with a worried look in her eyes.

"Dad?" she asked.

Danny looked a bit worried, too, but Paulina once again interrupted.

"Your father will have a treat of his own when we get back."

And so, we watched as Paulina wheeled her daughter down the porch.

"I'm going to help her get Danielle in the car," Ms. Manson muttered, dropping the suitcases.

Jasmine and I exchanged looks as we watched Paulina. Though, I'm not a mind reader, I knew she was as worried as I was. Though, why we were worried, I couldn't say for certain.


	27. Chapter 27

**Codiak: Patience, dear friend. The end's coming closer.**

I carried Danny's crutch as Ember helped him up the stairs. Jasmine and Ms. Manson were following me with the luggage. When we got to the top, I gave him back his crutch, but stayed behind him in case he should lose his balance. Jasmine headed towards Danielle's room as Ms. Manson went into the one Danny and Paulina shared. I helped Ember lower Danny back on the bed. He thanked us for our help as we headed towards the door, but suddenly Ember dived towards a pile of clothes.

"I knew it!" she screeched, "I knew that little bitch took my tape recorder!"

"Oh," Danny mumbled, "She was probably just borrowing it for a minute."

"She told me she didn't have it, the dirty liar!" Ember continued to yell.

"Maybe she forgot," Danny mumbled again.

"I wonder what was so freaking important she just had to steal my stuff for."

Ember pushed the play button. Soon, we all had our hands to our ears as the room filled with Paulina's voice.

_He had it coming. He had it coming. He only had himself to blame! _

_If you'd a been there. If you'd a seen it. I'd betcha you would have done the same!_

"Why the hell," Ember questioned, quickly pressing the stop button, "Does she have it on so loud? She wants the neighbors to know how oh, so perfect her singing is?"

Ember took out the tape and left the room as I noticed a pink cloth on the floor. I took out the scrap I found in the ventilation system and compared it to the color of the cloth on the floor. It was an exact match! I grabbed the cloth from the floor and noticed a jagged tear on the end. The scrap fit perfectly with the tear!

"Who's is this?" I asked.

"Oh, that's Paulina's," Ms. Manson replied, "I've seen her use it on the ceiling before, practicing her dancing routine. Though what in the hell Rizzo and Mrs. Lovett were doing dancing on the ceiling, I'll never know. I got to give that girl credit, though. She can really use her muscles."

I noticed that yesterday when she was dancing for me on the lamp. She mentioned to me that she was playing a dancer, a role that required vigorous practicing and training. That would easily tone her muscles and help herself up on her scarf towards the air vent. She's skinny enough to fit. Wait, the scarf. Didn't she say something to me about how sometimes she used a scarf to dance with instead of a pole? But would she really kill Vlad just because he didn't like her acting?

"What the..?" Ms. Manson said, forcing me away from my thoughts, "Why the hell is there a screwdriver in here? And there's screws here, too! Danny, you suddenly taking up carpentering?"

"What?" Danny asked, just as confused as Ms. Manson, "No. I didn't put them there. I guess Paulina did. I don't know why, though."

"Wait a minute," I said.

I went over to the dresser, picked up the screw and screwdriver, flew to the vent, and compared the screw in my hand to the one in the vent. I unscrewed one of the vent's own screws and substituted it with the screw in my hand. It fit perfectly. I flew back down towards the dresser and noticed a pink book sticking out of one of the drawers. Without thinking, I reached for it.

"Um," Danny muttered, "That's Paulina's. I don't…I mean… You shouldn't.. You know…"

There had to be way to get Danny to relent, so I said the first thing that popped out of my mouth.

"Your wife's a murderer!"

That got his attention.

"I mean," I said, as Danny and Ms. Ms. Manson stared at me, "That's what the police think! Paulina's diary might prove them wrong!"

"I'm still not sure…" Danny said, uneasily.

"You want to prove Sheriff Walker wrong?"

"I guess. But, you need the password to open it. It has a charm on it. The diary will only open if you say the password."

"What's the password?"

He shrugged in response.

"Here," Ms. Manson said, extending her hand, "Give it to me."

I did and she took it from there.

"Password," she said.

"Nobody," I chuckled, "Can really be that-"

The book opened.

"Stupid?" I finished, with wide eyes.

Ms. Manson smiled and started reading the last several pages out loud.

_November 13, 2011 _

_They did it again. I caught them kissing again! Who does that lowlife goth-_

"Lowlife?" Ms. Manson demanded.

"Keep reading," I urged her.

_-think she is? And what about Danny? I work my ass off for him. I make him a better person. And how does he repay me? I truly am Velma! I hate my husband!_

_November 14, 2011_

_I bought a gun from some green-haired girl. She said she didn't anymore, so she sold it to me. Now, I have to figure out how to do this. Luckily, Papa trained me when I was a chica, but still, I want to make sure everything is perfect._

_November 15, 2011_

_I'm trying to decide if a knife would be better than a gun. A gun makes noise, but a knife doesn't. Yes, I think a knife would be better, but I need to test this out. But, how? Perhaps, I need to do a little dress rehearsal, first. The old man would be perfect for me to test on. He'll die soon, anyways, but how would I get into his room? The hallway! The air vent screws are always loose in the hallway!_

_Novebember 16, 2011_

_He's dead. Poor man never even knew what happened! He died rather quickly, too. Quite decent of him, really. I never really liked him. He hated my plays! But, the knife might not be so quick on Danny._

Danny gave out a gasp, but Ms. Manson read on.

_Gun or knife? Well, neither for a few days. I have to wait for the police to be done first. Ugh. I can't wait until he's dead! In the meantime, Jasmine is bringing her fiancée over tomorrow to stay for a couple days. I wonder if he's cute._

_November 17, 2011_

_The Dairy Farm? Danny gets the Dairy Farm? Oh, my! Now, I really can't wait until he's dead! I get rid of my husband and I profit from it at the same time! What wondrous news! Aah! The world is so kind to dear Paulina. Ooh! Just thinking about killing him makes me want to do so even more now! I'm going to go target practicing on the tree. P.S. Jasmine's fiancée is not cute. He looks like an old geezer._

Another sigh escaped from my lips, but they were ignored.

_November 18, 2011_

_Danielle is in the hospital with a broken leg. Apparently, I shot the tree too much, yesterday. I weakened one of its branches, which broke after the poor girl put weight on it. Oops. I'll tell the goth girl to send her a card for me. At least the police aren't here anymore, which is good news. They think Desiree killed Vlad. More good news is that Danny was the old man's oldest son, which means he inherits the property that Desiree can't have! Ah! Oh, how that beautiful money would please me so! I can't wait anymore. I'm killing him tonight! I'll have to write a suicide note for him, first that has him admit he killed Vlad. Oh! How long that will take!_

_November 19, 2011_

_That didn't go so well. I was aiming for his head last night, but the bastard just had to bend over! I got him in the leg instead! I was in such a hurry to leave, I accidently dropped my gun into one of that hothead's boxes! Oh, well. At least the police don't think it's me, anymore. They tried to arrest the hothead this morning, but he gave them the slip. Good riddance, I say. He never liked me. Everybody is coming home today and goth girl is going out for another stroll around the park to admire the wildlife after she helps everyone unpack. I'm going to take my daughter out for ice-cream. Rather unfortunate that goth girl is going to try to kill me in the middle of the road. It really would have to be all I could do to survive. Poor little Danielle, but it's a small sacrifice for her Mama. _

"Oh, no," I muttered, "We got to get to the kids!"

I flew across the hallway towards Danielle's room, unaware that Ms. Manson was close on my heels.

"Jasmine!" I cried out, making my poor fiancée, jump about a foot into the air, "We need to find Paulina now! We need to get to the kids now!"

"The kids?" Ember poked her head in the room.

"Technus," my fiancée said, patting my shoulders, "Calm down! Why do we need to do get to the kids?"

"Because," Danny said, angrily strutting, or as angrily as one can on crutches, "Paulina tried to kill me last night and she's going to kill the kids and blame it on Sam!"

"What?" both Jasmine and Ember screeched.

"My baby!" Ember shouted, running downstairs, "Don't worry, Mommy's coming!"

"Come on, Sam!" Danny said, following her.

"Where the hell are you going?" Sam demanded, "You've got an injured leg! You can't go anywhere!"

"I'm not letting my soon-to-be ex-wife hurt my daughter! Now come on!"

Jasmine and I followed as the couple continued to argue. A loud beeping sound interrupted their argument.

"Come on!" Ember shouted, "Let's go! We're taking my tour bus!"


	28. Chapter 28

During our café encounters, Jasmine would sometimes complain on how her cousin's wife had a lead foot. Well, today Jasmine was probably grateful that her cousin's wife had a lead foot. I watched from above as Ember's tour bus swerved in and out of all directions all while keeping the accelerator completely flat on the floor. I could barely keep up with the girl. Jasmine, Danny, and Sam had their heads stuck out of the vehicle looking for Paulina's car. I was keeping a lookout for it, too, which is why I was following the bus instead of being inside it. I figured my job would be easier if I could see the street from above. Danny volunteered to go with me, but Sam, immediately shot down the idea because of his leg.

After a few more miles, I finally spotted the vehicle my fiancée had described to me stuck between two rocks. The pink Volkswagen had apparently been riding along the Casper bridge before nose-diving into the Casper Sea. A green glow was surrounding the car and had extended as far as to where the beams of the bridge were broken, but I ignored it. Quickly, I phased into the tour bus.

"They went into the sea!" I shouted, "She drove them off the bridge and went into the sea!"

"I'll kill that slut!" Ember shouted, furiously turning the steering wheel towards the bridge.

Ember pulled up towards the bridge and bolted out of the bus, quickly followed by Jasmine and myself. Ms. Manson quickly helped Danny up before rushing after us.

"Oh, no," Ember muttered, as she got closer to the green glow, "The ghost shield's on!"

A loud screeching from behind momentarily distracted our attention. I looked back and was surprised to see a silver and green RV pull up next to the bus. The passenger and driver's side doors quickly opened up.

"Ember!" a voice boomed.

"Dan?" Ember shouted back.

Dan flew as quickly as he could towards us, followed by his passenger, an old man with a scar down his eye holding some sort of staff. Then I realized he was actually a child. Then I saw he was actually a young man. It took me while to realize he was just shape-shifting between child, young adult, and elderly.

"Is Youngblood okay?" Dan demanded.

"I don't know," Ember said, looking back at the car as tears streamed down her face, "The ghost shield's on! I can't get through!"

"I'll do it," he replied, taking a deep breath.

"Stop!" his companion said, clamping a hand over Dan's mouth, "You do that, and the car will drift away from the rocks, and we'll never get the kids out!"

"I'll go down," Ms. Manson volunteered, taking off her boots, "I'm a good swimmer. I can get the kids."

"The door's locked." the stranger replied, holding on tightly to his clock staff, "You might be able to pass through the shield, but you can't pass through the lock."

"Then I'll bust down the window on that bitch's face!" Ms. Manson continued, "She deserves a hell of a lot worse than that!"

"While I agree with you," the stranger said, folding his arms, "There are a couple problems with that. One, Paulina's already dead. The 'accident' killed her. And two-"

"The windows are break-proof," Danny groaned, finishing the morphing man's sentence, "Paulina had them installed because she was scared some maniac would break into her car while she's driving it and kill her."

"Well, we can't just stand here and do nothing!" I countered, "I'm not sure how long that car's going to hold on, but I don't want to find out!"

"Here," Danny shoved his crutch at Ms. Manson, "Hold on to it for me, would you?"

"Danny, what are you doing?" Jasmine demanded, "Your leg-"

"Is just going to have to deal with it!" he finished, "I'm not letting my daughter drift off into the sea."

"And how are you supposed to pass through the lock?" I asked.

"Didn't Jasmine tell you?" he smirked at me, "I'm going ghost!"

To my amazement, I saw him transform right before my eyes! His raven hair became snow white hair and his sky blue eyes were now glowing green eyes! I'd remembered, right then, that Jasmine did say her brother's half-ghost, but I had never really thought about it since I never saw it! Danny seemed satisfied by my response and transformed himself back human.

"Look," he panted, sitting on the ground and resting his leg, "I'm the only one that can pass through the shield and the lock! We've got no choice! Ask Clockwork if you don't believe me!"

"But you're injured," both Jasmine and Ms. Manson replied.

"Injured or not," the man, whom I assumed was named Clockwork said, "He has a point. We're going to have to trust him. We have no choice."

"Just turn off the ghost shield," Dan said, folding his arms, "Ember and I will take it from there."

With a nod, Danny crawled towards the edge of the bridge.

"Careful!" Ms. Manson said as tears threatened to stream down her face, "Be careful!"

Danny stood up as his injured leg shook heavily. When he got to the edge, he jumped and plummeted into the sea. We all ran to where he jumped and watched for any signs of movement.

"Danny!" Ms. Manson cried.

Suddenly, a head filled with white hair shot out from the water and flew towards the car with his tail trailing behind. He got to the car and phased inside. Finally, the shield went down. Like a shot of lightning, Dan, Ember, and I went after him. I wasn't really asked to go, but I went anyway in case I was needed.

We got to the car and saw Danny in human form unbuckling the children. I noticed his wife crumpled up at the dashboard with a huge gash in her forehead. The cracked windshield made me believe she went headfirst into it, but because it was unbreakable, she didn't go through, but rebounded and died.

Turning my face from this grisly scene, I focused on the backseat. Both Youngblood and Danielle were bleeding, but only Youngblood was unconscious. Danielle was crying with fright as her uncle picked her up.

"It's alright," Danny said, stroking his daughter's hair, "It's okay. You're alright."

"She tried to kill us!" the child sobbed, "Mom tried to kill us!"

"Alright, calm down," Dan soothed, "You'll be alright."

"He's still breathing!" Ember shouted, unbuckling her son, "Youngblood's still breathing!"

"I tried to get us out!" Danielle wailed, "But I couldn't! My hand hurt too much!"

"You're okay," her father said, calmly, "It's probably just a couple of broken fingers. That's all. The doctor will fix that."

"You think you can keep flying out there?" I asked Danny, "Or do you need help."

"I'll manage," Danny replied, changing back to ghost form, "I'll be fine."

"Come on!" Dan ordered.

Just as quick as they came, Ember and Dan flew out with the kids. Danny flew after them, though not as fast. As a matter of fact, he wasn't flying as fast as he did when he jumped off the bridge. I dawdled behind in case I needed to catch Danny. Sure enough, he started to faint from exhaustion. First, he changed back into his human form. Then he fell towards the sea.

"Danny!" I heard Ms. Manson shout.

I bolted for him and caught him. Unfortunately for me, I had greatly underestimated my ability to hold on to weight. Not only that, I had greatly overestimated how much Danny actually weighed. You wouldn't know that this lanky kid was heavy just by looking at him! I flew as fast as I could, but still I slowly sank in the air. That's when Clockwork and Dan for us. Dan went for his brother as Clockwork reached for me.

"Uh," I replied, completely embarrassed, "Thanks, Mr. Clockwork, sir, but you can let go of me now. I think I'm fine now."

"Well," he replied, "You never know. After all, Danny said he was perfectly fine to fly and look what happened to him."

I glanced over at Danny's tired body. Dan caught my gaze and smirked at my red face, chuckling to myself.

"What's the matter, old man?" he asked me to my irritation, "Not as fit as you were when you were my age?"

Chuckling to his joke, he flew ahead of us and landed at the bridge. Clockwork soon came to the edge afterwards. I was greeted by a bear hug.

"Oh, my gosh," Jasmine cried, "Technus! Are you okay! You're not hurt are you?"

When I was able to breathe again, I looked down at her face and noticed her eyes were filled with tears.

"I'm fine," I assured her, "I'm fine."

"Oh, my gosh! When you started sinking towards the sea-"

"But, I didn't," I reminded her, "I'm perfectly fine."

To prove my point, I kissed her gently on the lips. She kissed back and we remained like that for several moments.

"Hey, Lovebirds," Dan said from behind us.

Reluctantly, we broke the kiss and looked back at him. Though I really shouldn't have been surprised, I was anyways as several police cars, fire trucks, and ambulances surrounded us. I should have realized our jumping off bridges maneuver would have attracted attention.

"The paramedics want to check you out, geezer." Dan smirked, "Just to make sure your old and withering immune system didn't get ambushed by pneumonia or a cold."

To this day, I still want to strangle that thick neck of his, I really do.


	29. Chapter 29

"Well," Sheriff Walker growled, "He still ran from the police! That's resisting arrest which is against the rules!"

Dan glowered murderously at the cop, but his friend intervened.

"That may be true," Clockwork replied, "But, can you really put someone into jail for resisting arrest when they never even committed the crime they're being accused of in the first place? Especially, after you've already been made aware of whom the murderer actually is?"

"Well, somebody's got to go to jail for something!"

"Why?"

To this, the sheriff had no reply, but he continued to glare at Dan.

"Nobody had done any wrong here, and the one person who did is now deceased. If I were you, Sheriff, I'd go on my merry way. Oh, and while I'm giving you advice, here's a piece the both of you really need to pay attention to. Let it go. You both aren't in high school anymore. This rivalry between the two of you is getting ridiculous."

Both men glared at Clockwork before glaring back at each other.

"I'm warning you, Phantom," Sheriff Walker growled, "You get as much as a speeding ticket from my district and I'll be on you like a ton of bricks!"

With that, he stomped off.

"Have fun at Dunkin' Donuts!" Dan shouted after him.

The sheriff turned back, flipped Dan the bird, and slammed the door behind him.

"There's something I still don't understand," I said, watching the cop car speed out the Masters' driveway, "How did you escape, anyway."

"Oh, that," he chuckled, "I multiplied myself in two and left in the middle of the night while my copy stayed behind. I knew Walker was going to be after my ass with a warrant the next day, so I bailed. When he came, I had my copy go to the window, just to show him that I was there, and summoned it back to my body when they got the dog loose. Meanwhile, I was hiding out with an old friend of mine."

He nodded towards Clockwork, who playfully gave a bow before me.

"Clockwork warned me that Youngblood was in danger," Dan continued, "So, I got in the RV, he got in too, and I floored it over to where he showed me."

"How did you know?" I asked the cloaked figure.

"I'm the ghost of time. I know everything. By the way, Dan. You should probably finish up with sorting through your Packers collection."

"What are you, my mom?" he retorted, but headed up towards the Packers boxes, anyways.

"And now," Clockwork said, "I must take my leave. After all, time stops for no one, not even me."

A pair of clock hands appeared behind him and disappeared along with him. I didn't have time to wonder about it, though. Ms. Manson had opened the door and asked for my help. I held the door open as Danny limped in, holding onto Ms. Manson's neck. Ms. Manson sat him down on the couch and went back outside to fetch Danielle. Ember came in carrying Youngblood.

"Everybody okay?" I asked.

"Dipstick over there got dehydrated, but he's fine now," she nodded towards Danny as Ms. Manson came back with Danielle, "Youngblood had a concussion, but that's gone, though his arm's broken. And Danielle's got a few broken fingers."

"Hey Bones," Youngblood said to the parrot standing by, "Since I'm not supposed to be moving around for a while because of my head, that means I'll be in bed most of the time. This means, you're going to have to fetch everything I want for me when I ask!"

"Considering you ram yourself into the fridge on a weekly basis," Bones replied, "I highly doubt the doctor's advice will be necessary."

"Oh, you hush!" Ember scolded him, "My baby was nearly killed, and all you do is make fun of him for it!"

"Hey!" Danny interrupted, not coincidentally, I might add, "Did Sam tell you the good news?"

"Danny," she blushed, "Not yet. Wait until you're fully recovered."

"They're getting married," Danielle interrupted, "And Sam's going to help take care of the animals at the dairy farm."

Ms. Manson blushed as congratulations were given to her and her fiancée. We were interrupted, however, by Dan's booming.

"Holy shit!" he shouted.

Not knowing what happened this time, those who weren't injured ran as fast as they could up the stairs.

"Honey!" Ember screamed, forgetting she was still holding Youngblood, "Dan, what's wrong! Are you okay!"

"I'm better than okay!" he replied, hugging her tightly, "Look at this!"

He waved a piece of paper in her face. Ms. Manson snatched it out and read it.

"A deed to the Packers?" she asked.

"Yes! Dad's deed to the Packers! Which is mine now! I own the Packers!"

"Holy shit!" Ember repeated Dan's sentiment, "You own the Packers!"

"Where did you find that?" I asked.

"In one of Dad's display cases!" he replied, "It was hidden in one of the uniforms! Holy shit, I own the Packers!"

Jasmine came up the stairs, taking her coat off as she watched her cousin's celebration.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"I own the Packers!"

Dan grabbed Jasmine and twirled her around before sprinting downstairs.

"Hey, shrimp!"

"Well," my fiancée replied, looking a bit frazzled, "I guess that's why Uncle Vlad left Dan the Packers stuff."

"I guess so."

She smiled at me, her eyes sparkling, before grabbing my hand and yanking me into her room.

"Technus," she said, still smiling, "I have something important to tell you. Sit down."

She patted at a spot on the bed next to where she was sitting. She sounded a little nervous, which made me rather nervous as well.

"Is something wrong?" I asked, sitting down.

"No. Nothing's wrong. I just had an appointment today."

"Oh," I sighed with relief, "One of your patients?"

"Actually," she responded, "I was the patient."

"Oh," I said, widening my eyes in surprise, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I just have to tell you what the doctor said."

She smiled at me, but still looked rather nervous.

"And what did he say?" I asked after a few minutes of silence.

"He said, that I'm okay. But…"

"But?"

She mumbled something that I couldn't hear.

"I'm sorry?" I asked, "I didn't catch that."

"I said," she repeated, smiling shyly, "I'm pregnant."

"You're what?" I asked, widening my eyes.

I was aware of what she said, but it didn't quite register in my brain.

"You heard me," she said, more confident this time, "I'm pregnant."

"Oh, my gosh," I replied, "Oh, my…My fiancée….Pregnant…And I did it! That's great!"

I'm not really sure what was going on in my brain, only that incoherent words came out of my mouth.

"So," she asked as her eyes sparkled with joy, "Are you excited that you're going to be a daddy?"

"Daddy." I said, feeling rather giddy, "Me? Yes!"

And that's when the room started swirling around me and turned black.

The End


End file.
